


Children of Hades

by EmeryldLuk



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anachronism, Gen, Immortality Curse, Original Characters - Freeform, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Swearing, language barriers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-04-07 06:56:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14075430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeryldLuk/pseuds/EmeryldLuk
Summary: Not long after the battle at Camp Half-Blood, the Labyrinth opens a chasm in the middle of camp. Nico, Will, and Hazel venture inside, and what they find changes everything. A Greek Demi-God, Daughter of Hades, Lily has been trapped by both the Labyrinth and her own curse. While Nico and Hazel try to balance their new lives with hers, Lily has her own plans and goals, ones that don't mix well with others.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Also feel free to hit up my Children of Hades December Prompt Series. 31 days of short sweet Ficlets (once completed, still writing)

"Once upon a time," Persephone began, tucking Nico's blankets around him. He immediately undid her work, wanting to bunch the covers up around his neck and shoulders instead. Persephone smiled and turned to Bianca in the bed on her other side.

"Once upon a time, there was a fisherman's daughter who dreamed of bigger things than marrying another fisherman. She would spend as much time as she could in the hills, breathing in the smell of the grass and the dirt after the rain. Now this daughter would grow up as her father wished, knowing all the ways to cut, prep and cook fish, but also knowing the names of every single plant to be found in their lakeside hometown.

"Expecting and acceptant if not welcoming of her marriage to a fisherman twice her age, she came to act the part in front of everyone. But when everyone was asleep, she would sneak out and sing to the night, enjoying the freedom darkness gave her."

"Did anyone ever find out?" Bianca piped.

Persephone poked at Bianca through the blankets. "Shush, you'll ruin the story."

"Sorry."

"So," Persephone continued, "on one of the nights she snuck out, the night after her marriage, she met someone. He was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. He introduced himself as a traveler and they spoke for hours. He talked of the places he'd seen and the people he'd met. She spoke of her life in the town and how she dreamed of something magical.

"Dawn came quicker than before and she had to rush back to her home before her husband woke and wondered where she was. Secretly, she hoped to meet the stranger again.

"And she did. Each time she snuck out, once or twice a week, he'd be there, waiting. She fell in love with this man. They enjoyed each other's company and after awhile things became quite intense. She asked him to take her away with him when he left, but he refused. This was her home and she would not belong where he lived. She was upset and stopped going out at night. Time passed and she began to miss him, but he was no longer there.

"After a couple months, she realized she was pregnant, and something about the child was different. The fisherman's daughter knew on instinct this child would become everything she had wished for.

"When the girl was born, she was name Lily, for her mother saw only delicate and powerful beauty in her eyes. Lily had her father's gray eyes and black hair, and her mother's sweet smile. Unfortunately, the fisherman saw the child's eyes and knew it was not his. Angry, he began to treat his wife badly, hitting her whenever he felt she had done wrong with something. Lily grew up seeing this and hating it, for she had a strong sense of right and wrong that came from inside her.

"After he beat her mother black and blue one morning, he went out to fish and never came back. His friends spoke of a dark shape cutting his craft in two, dragging him into the depths to never be seen again. Everyone assumed a monster of the sea had eaten him and took pity on his widowed wife and child. The fisherman's daughter returned to live with her father, raising her daughter to be better.

"Lily learned many things a fisherman's daughter should. She learned to catch oysters and spear fish in the river. She was a natural at anything involving a knife. But as she got older, her vision got worse. She was told at the age of ten, that she would never be much of a wife because she couldn't see past the length of her arms. It only made her more determined to prove them wrong. And she did, in a way.

"The more she practiced, the more she realized she was special. She went barefoot because she could feel the earth around her. She was the best when it came to filleting and gutting fish only because of how easily she handled the knife.

"When she turned twelve, the talk began of marriage. While her mother was reserved on the topic, it was all anyone else would talk about. This upset her because she was not given a choice. Angry, frustrated, and filled with thoughts of how terrible her father had been, she ran away down the coast. Lily huddled in a seaside cave to be alone with her thoughts, with the water washing over her toes.

"It was there she learned that she was the child of a god. In her anger, she summoned the ghost of her long dead father. Shocked and furious, she yelled at him. With a wave of her hand, the very stone of the cave splintered, flying through the ghost. And then he was gone, and she held a thousand shards of rock in the air.

"Everything changed for her. She returned home, forced the villagers to back down by showing her power. Her mother was estatic, her grandfather in awe. The village gather together enough money for Lily to go to the city as it was agreed only the Gods would have say in her life. Thus, Lily left home, traveled on her own and came across monsters for the first time.

"What kind of monsters?" Nico wondered.

"Harpies, Siren, Cyclops. She was powerful though, as she would find out. She could do so much more than move stone. Eventually, she would find other children like her and join them." Persephone fussed with his blankets. "Lily was always curious and inventive, pushing her limits whenever she could.

"There was some tragedy in her life. Her mother died a couple years after she left during one of Lily's quests. It broke her heart. She became all but blind by the time she turned sixteen, but she was still a formidable fighter. She delved into magic and the mist, finding she had a talent for it. Through her training, she became ever stronger in everything she could do.

"And then she met her father. Her real father, mind, not the fisherman she grew to hate. On a quest to steal a goblet from the palace of Hades-"

"-But that would be stupid," Bianca blurted. "Stealing from Hades is a suicide mission."

"Stupid or not, it was her quest. Lily was sneaking through the palace, avoiding every guard, every servant, as if there was nothing easier. But Hades knew. He could feel her presence. Knowing she could never beat him, she tried to stall. Lily tried everything she knew. She built a five foot thick wall of granite. She turned the guard's weapons into a barrier. She cast spell after spell, even tried to turn his own soldiers on him. Nothing worked. Everything she tried was undone just as fast as she could do it. In the end, she was exhausted and he was tired of wasting time. He introduced himself, said he was the handsome traveler her mother had met. Lily believed him, of course. It made sense.

"Instead of completing the quest, Lily stayed. She got to see her mother again. She only left when the hunger was getting too much, but her life would never be the same. She was treated differently when people learned by whom she had been fathered. They avoided her. So she avoided them. With every year, she spent more and more time away from people. She built herself a home in the mountains, befriended the local spirits and monsters. She put down her weapons and stopped killing all together. It was her happy ending, living on her own, not bound by anything but her own will. It was her justice for a life wrongly spent.

"But she would not be left alone. Her old friends would call on her for help in a quest and she would turn them down. When a hero came to slay a monster nearby, she would intervene. It made for some turbulent days and a reputation for betraying the Gods.

"There was a long time of peace before the trio came. A daughter of Dionysus whom had once been Lily's closest friend, A son of Nike looking to prove himself in the eyes of his mother, and a son of Apollo wishing for nothing but to go home and curl up by the fire.

"They came up the mountain, prepped to fight, but Lily fled. She ran until she could run no more. She watched as the monsters she had befriended turned on the heroes to help her escape. The son of Apollo fell in battle with them. She tried talking the other two into leaving her alone, but neither would, for they knew by prophecy that there was no surviving if Lily lived. But there was no battle, for neither of the girls wished to fight. The son of Nike killed his comrade in his haste to kill Lily and Lily killed him for it. She remained there with the dead, grieving for her friend and broken inside. It was then on that mountainside that she made a vow of vengeance on those that had tried to kill her."

Persephone paused, pleased to hear the soft sounds of sleepy breathing. She neatened Bianca's covers and kissed Nico on the forehead.

Hades stood in the doorway, frowning like always. Persephone blew out her candle and joined him in the hallway.

"Why do you tell that story. I hate it."

"Because one day your children will find each other." She kissed his cheek. "Lily is not lost forever. The fact that she has never crossed the river is proof of that. You will have her back one day and the fates say one of your children will find her."

He sighed. "I know, I just hate the thought. It has been so long that I fear it will never happen."

"Faith, husband, you must have faith. Now, let them sleep."


	2. Chapter 2

It had been two weeks since the battle. Camp was still a complete mess with the scars of war. Morning passed as any before would have. Percy was noisy in competition with Jason over just about everything. Hazel watched in amusement as they bickered like brothers. She wondered if she and Nico would have a close sibling relationship in the future. She felt they were close, but not silly close.

Course Nico slept in till afternoon. He obviously needed it with how tired and pale he looked lately. He woke around two, still groggy and went to see about food, though he didn't really feel like eating. He'd had the creepiest of dreams about Bianca and wanted to drown it out in a burger.

The ground began to shake. Nico looked around, first thinking that someone had built another huge vehicle, but Leo was dead. No one else in this camp had ever had such hare brained ideas. When the shaking got worse, he grabbed the nearest wall for balance. Yelling rose from the direction of the training arena.

Then it went still. Nico felt his stomach lurch, a feeling in his gut that reminded him of his dream. Will stumbled out of the cabin; Nico was leaning on Apollo's cabin. For a moment, Nico's gut wrenching dread was replaced by light hearted butterflies. Will, having yet to spot Nico there, stared around wide eyed until he turned around.

"Nico, what happened?"

The dread returned. "Earthquake, I think." Will simply nodded as if Nico was right.

"I heard screaming," He said. "Shall we go help."

Nico muttered, "Sure, why not."

Helping a younger camper to her feet, Hazel stared at the gaping hole in the side of hill. She could feel it's depth like a chasm staring up at her, hungry. Inside it was dark and the air smelled of salt.

Annabeth ran over, breathing hard as if she had sprinted over from the beach, which was where she had been making out with Percy. She put a hand on Hazel's shoulder and stared into the hole.

"How deep is it?" Annabeth asked.

Hazel grimaced. "Deep. I think-I'm not sure, but it might be a part of the labyrinth."

"Oh, great," Annabeth groaned. "It's just one problem after another around here."

"By the way, "Hazel indicated Annabeth's mouth, "your lipstick."

Annabeth hastily scrubbed at her skin. "Clear the area then? I hope no one got hurt."

They had some difficulty clearing the area, for many campers, Greek and Roman alike, were curious as to the cause of the earthquake. Upon arrival, Will immediately went to help patch up any scrape or cut he could find, leaving Nico to carefully investigate the opening as he liked. He was wary of the giant 6 ft wide depression, but the sinking feeling in his gut kept drawing him in. It felt like something inside was calling to him.

"Do you feel it?" Hazel whispered. Nico nodded slowly. "What is it?"

"Something neither dead nor alive," Nico answered. "I hate it. Makes me sick just standing here."

"It feels dangerous to me. How is it that no one else can feel it?"

Nico looked around, morosely scanning the crowd that was now dutifully standing back. Having a few Roman centurians bark orders had helped.

"I think because of our father," Nico guessed, thinking of his dream. "Whatever is down there, it's related to him somehow. Maybe a stray hellhound. If only it could just be a stray hellhound."

"Yeah, I think I could handle a hellhound, but that feels worse." Hazel rubbed her arms, feeling goosebumps under her sleeves. "Can we just ignore it?"

Nico sighed. "No, we can't. We need to deal with it before it gets worse."

"Worse? You think it'll get bigger?"

Nico looked around and saw Chiron trotting over. "I don't know, but I had a dream and it was terrible."

"Hello," Chiron greeted, stamping his hooves as he came to a stop just behind the two. "I assume there is a reason both of you are giving this new cave such looks?"

"There's something down there," They said in unison and, surprised, looked at each other.

"Sir, I had a dream about this," Nico added. "Whatever is down there has to do with Hades."

"Hazel?"

She shrugged. "We can both feel it down there and I doubt it will stay down there once it knows there's an exit."

"Very true. The two of you will most likely be instrumental in solving this problem. For now, the area is being cleared for safety reasons. If the two of you could join the others?"

He motioned with one arm to their friends standing at a distance. Nico looked over and saw Will putting a bandaid on an Aphrodite kid's elbow and Will looked over at that moment. Their eyes met and Will gave him a look that seemed to say 'what are you doing?'.

Then Nico looked at Percy. He instantly knew exactly what the scrawny fighter would say about this and hated it.

"Yeah, like we're going to let the extra special idiots over there make a mess of things like always," Nico grumbled. "C'mon Hazel."

Hazel hesitated, wanting to call Frank over, but Nico moved so fast for the entrance to the hole that she had to give up on that wish and run to catch up. Seeing them disappear underground, Will shoved some more bandaids at Clarrise and ran after.

"Hey, Death Boy!" Will yelled, ducking around an unhappy Chiron and sliding into the entrance. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Somewhere you probably shouldn't," Nico offered half-heartedly. "You could get hurt."

"And you could stop existing," WIll countered. "If you think I'm going to let you just waltz off and use your underworld powers without me around to keep you alive, you are sorely mistaken."

Hazel smiled, but neither saw as the darkness closed in. Muttering about night owls, Will pulled a keychain flashlight out of the first aid kit he was carrying. He waved it around a bit, annoying Hazel when he shined it on her face, and saw the steep tunnel they were in. A perfectly circular construction, the dirt walls were peppered with the ends of roots as if the tunnel had just politely pushed all the plant life aside as it moved. After walking for half a minute, the dirt became more stony and rough, flattening out until they came to a split.

Continuing forward was a tunnel that looked like it belonged in a cave and to the right was a tunnel more like an old world castle hallway with sparse torch brackets.

Hazel shuddered. "Definitely part of the labyrinth."

Will pointed the flashlight down the cave tunnel. "So, cave or hallway? You're the experts?"

"Cave," Hazel said as Nico answered, "Hallway." They looked at each other.

"Is this your dream again?"

"No, I just think we should go in the hallway, what about you?"

Hazel pointed. On the wall of the cave there were cuts and scratches as if from a fight. Nico went for a closer look, running a hand over the stone.

"It doesn't look like claw marks. Swords?"

"Does it matter?" She asked, striding further in. "We find the creature and kill it."

They walked on. Will occasionally moved his light to the walls, eyeing the gouges they kept seeing. It bothered him more and more as he noticed the variety of size to the marks.

The tunnel wound downward in a big loop with a couple of switch backs. They came across no other tunnels and the air lost it's fresh smell.

A scream echoed up towards them. Will froze solid, waiting tensely for something terrible to charge up at them. Seeing both Hazel and Nico reach for their weapons, he felt a bit naked without his bow. However, nothing came into sight. The yell faded, leaving them standing warily in the tunnel for another few moments.

"Okay, that did not sound like a hellhound," Hazel muttered. "Cyclops?"

Nico scowled. "Why would we sense a cyclops? Maybe it's some obscure monster we've never seen before. Who knows how long it's been down here."

"Whatever it is," Will added, "that was freaky."

"Agreed," Hazel said with a nod.


	3. Chapter 3

She was tired. She was always tired. Sleep came in short bursts always broken by either the nightmares or monsters. In the dark, there was little difference between the two, and for her everything was dark.

It had been a long time since she had kept track of time. When your life is just a constant cycle of one thing, you lose interest in caring. She had no clue if it was day or night, if it had been one year or a dozen, if she had slept for longer than an hour.

All that was real was the chiton she wore and the staff of stone that she leaned on. She could vaguely recall there being more once, but it felt like a lifetime ago that anything had been different.

Voices. There were three of them as always: two boys and a girl. They spoke softly, walking down the tunnel on her right that went upward. That was different, but it mattered little what her hallucinations did the same or different. There was only one way to end them. She shifted onto her good leg and raised one hand.

 

Hazel had started talking about her plans upon returning home. The things she wanted to eat, some of which made Nico cringe, and movies she wanted to watch. She was rattling off and Nico let her; he could feel it too. Only Will remained oblivious, but politely chatted with Hazel, asking her about her favorite ice cream flavor and offering the option of frozen custard.

If someone had asked Nico what exactly he felt, he wouldn't have been able to say exactly. He would have been able to say that it was neither dead nor alive, that it smelled of pain, but the feeling escaped him.

Hazel was the first to notice. She suddenly stopped chattering and yelled, "Earthquake," a split second before the ground began to shake. Will grabbed onto Nico for balance, but both lost it in the next moment as the shaking became worse. Hazel yelled, rolling a couple times before she could brace herself.

Just as suddenly, the earthquake stopped. Nico rolled all the way down the slope with Will right on top of him.

"You guys alright?" Hazel yelled down.

"Peachy," Will called back. He'd lost hold of his flashlight in the fall.

Nico groaned. "Your elbow is in my ribs, WIll."

"Oh my goodness, sorry." Will scrambled to his feet. "Dang, now I can't see anything."

About to get up, Nico heard something whistling in the air. He grabbed Will's pantleg and pulled. Will yelped, falling right into Nico's arms.

"Something just grazed my face," He squeaked.

"Guess we found it," Nico muttered, looking around. Will's flashlight had ended up several meters away and pointing into nothing, but Nico could feel in the air that they were in a large cavern.

As if they'd been hiding, thousands of glowing spots appeared on the walls, growing to the size of golf balls to illuminate the space. Hazel ran out of the tunnel, sword raised and stopped short.

In the middle of the cavern was a single woman dressed in the fashion of ancient greeks. Her long black hair was a gnarled mess and dirt smudged the faded color of her gown. She held in one hand a smooth staff of what looked like granite and curled around her other hand and wrist was a single vine of ivy like a lacy glove.

The woman spoke, but she did so in a language none of them understood. She moved her ivy covered hand in a circular motion. A sliver of rock peeled away from the ceiling and shot at Hazel. Hazel knocked the spike down with her sword.

"Who are you?" Hazel asked.

The woman didn't respond. She made the same motion, creating a dozen more of the rock spikes. Hazel glanced down.

"Would you two quit cuddling and help?"

Nico turned beet red as he realized he still had his arms wrapped around Will and let go. Will rolled to his feet and ducked behind Hazel as the spikes flew. She cut down the three aimed at her. Nico rolled as four shot into the ground next to him. He rolled up, drawing the stygian iron blade he carried.

The ground shook as Hazel focused. The rock rippled towards the woman. Unfazed, the ripple bounced away and to the walls. The woman clenched a fist. The ground broke, cracking around their feet, and then sealing in the same moment.

Nico surged to his feet and ran at the woman. More spikes of rock shot at him. He ducked and rolled, flailing as the earth moved under his feet. He recovered and swung at her neck.

She twitched, almost looking his direction. His blade pulled in his hands, avoiding her as if it refused to hurt her. He stumbled past her, trying not to lose his grip.

"Plug your ears," Will shouted. Both Hazel and Nico dropped their weapons to stuff fingers in their ears. He whistled sharply, the noise echoing in the small space.

The woman gasped, clapping both hands to her ears, face twisted in pain and shock. Her staff fell with a clatter to the ground.

Seizing on the moment, Nico scooped up his blade and lunged straight at the woman. This time his blade stayed true, plunging through her back to front.

Hazel lowered her hands, watching as the woman gaped soundlessly, hands feeling the blade going through her stomach.

She spoke again, muttering. There was no distress in her face though, only sadness.

Nico pulled out his sword and stepped back. The woman dropped to her knees, but didn't fall.

"She's not dying, Nico," Hazel said.

"I can tell." He stepped around in front of the woman. He could see now her white pupils. "She's blind."

She spoke, more insistent, but still in a different language. Nico frowned, trying to remember where he'd heard it before.

Will squinted in the dim light. "Is it over?"

The woman looked up and reached out a hand. Nico flinched, but nothing happened. "Hades," she whispered.

Finally, Nico remembered. All at once it made sense. He sheathed his sword.

"It's okay. She's not an enemy."

"Why, because she said your father's name?" Will asked, skeptic.

"She's a demi-god, Will. I don't know why she's down here, but I don't think we need to worry."

"She was attacking us," He grumbled.

"I know," Nico said with a roll of his eyes. He looked over his shoulder at Hazel and Will. "Maybe Chiron can talk to her. Find out what happened."

"Just be careful," Hazel warned.

Nico turned back and was surprised to see the woman crying. Not heavily, it was only a few tears from her eyes, but it was strange to see.

This time she grabbed Nico's hand. He didn't pull away. "Chiron," she said, emphasizing the name. "Chiron."

He returned her grip, helping her to her feet. She was unsteady on her feet, one of her legs threatening to give out. She held out her hand and her staff jumped into her fingers.


	4. Chapter 4

They turned to exit the cavern, but found the tunnel gone. Hazel focused, trying to picture how the tunnel had looked and make it reappear. Only nothing changed. She lifted her hand and tried again. No matter how Hazel imagined it, the exit refused to reappear.

Taking her hand from Nico's, the woman motioned, speaking as if suggesting something or berating Hazel; it was hard to tell from her heavy accent and speaking in Greek.

Hazel glanced at Nico, who was trying to figure out how to communicate with their new companion. He looked at the woman and tried a few greek words.

She frowned back. "You sound like a kid," she said.

Nico winced and tried again. "Want to help?"

"Better. Also, yes. Tell your friend to ask rather than demand."

Nico blinked, only catching a few of the words at first. After asking her to repeat, he turned to Hazel and passed on the advice. Hazel glowered at him.

"Ask, not demand? What the heck is that supposed to mean? If she knows what to do, then she can do it," Hazel snapped.

"Maybe she can't," Nico snapped back. "Would you stay in this place if you had a choice?"

"Fine. I'll try _asking_." Hazel faced the wall, both hands up this time. She closed her eyes and formed a picture in her mind of a way out. The wall seemed to shudder for a moment, but remained closed. Hazel growled to herself and gave up.

"Maybe there's another way out," she said scanning the other walls.

Nico sighed. "Hazel, what's wrong?"

Hazel paced in a circle around them, eyeing the flawless walls that still glowed. "The is the Labyrinth. I should be able to open an exit for us, but it isn't working. There's no such thing as asking the mist do anything in the first place."

The woman tapped a finger on Nico's shoulder. "Labyrinth? I do not understand."

Nico answered somewhat slowly. It had been awhile since he last practiced using Ancient Greek when he spoke with some of the spirits in Elysium. "The Labyrinth made by Daedalus. Do you know it?"

She nodded, though still confused. "It is in Crete. No longer used with the minotaur slain. This is not Crete. I would know."

Nico made a mental note to get this woman some history books. "Long story," he explained. "The Labyrinth is no longer just in Crete."

She stared, or at least didn't blink. "Amazing. Where are we? You speak a language none speak I know of."

"New York," Nico said slowly, his brain trying to do math without numbers. "How long have you been down here?"

She took on a pained expression. "Since- Since the curse took hold. I escape into cave to hide. Then it was first year of Hippomenes as Archon of Athens."

The sense of something wrong that had been bugging him finally made sense. This woman should not be alive. Ignoring the fact that he had put his blade right through her, she had been in this cave, without food or water that he could tell for a couple thousand years. The very thought of living like that made his stomach churn.

"What is wrong?" she asked quietly. "Did I hurt you earlier?"

Nico stared at her. He couldn't just blurt out how much time had passed, or tell her she ought to be dead a thousand times over, but unable to see his expression, she thought he was quiet for other reasons.

"What are you two talking about?" Hazel suddenly asked. She was standing ten feet away with her arms folded, the look on her face  exasperated. "I mean seriously. Clue the rest of us in. Am I right, Will? Will?"

With a start, Nico realized Will had vanished without a sound. He hadn't heard anything move, nor it seemed had anyone else. The woman next to him scowled and tapped her staff on the ground. A soft noise like a low hum spread out in the room and into the walls. Hazel shivered as if something cold had washed over her.

"Ground is shifting," The woman announced, though only Nico understood. "Sorry, I was distracted."

Nico nodded stiffly. He could still feel Will, alive and strong, but he couldn't help but start to panic. Anything could and would happen in the Labyrinth and he'd let Will out of his sight for only a couple of minutes.

Seeing him wide eyed and stiff, Hazel walked back over and held his hand. "Hey, what did she say?"

"Um," he started, forcing himself to focus on Hazel. "That the ground is moving, and she apologized."

"For what?"

Nico shrugged. "No clue. Let's get out of here and find Will."

This time when Hazel focused on the walls, a tunnel appeared on her left. This one was carved stone instead of natural cave with stairs heading downward.

 

When Will finished sliding down the tight chute he'd been sucked into, he sat up and dusted off his butt. Luckily, the room he was in was lit, but it was dusty, the air clouding up around him and failing to settle. He coughed and peered closer at what looked like a living space.

Covered by a faded bedspread patterned with stars was a twin size bed also covered by a thin film of gray. A simple white end table rested by the wall. The ten by ten room was otherwise empty with the hole in the ceiling and a door  that looked a little warped.

Will tried the door, but despite not being locked, it wouldn't move. He pushed harder and felt it give a millimeter. Setting his shoulder to the wood, Will shoved as hard as he could.

With a crunch and a loud creak, the door gave out all at once. Will stumbled through. There was a snap as the frame broke and the ceiling began to crumble. He sprinted down the carved tunnel, dust and pebbles falling from above

He skidded to a halt, nearly falling into a pit as he turned a corner. The tunnel shook and collapsed. Will lunged for the other side of the pit, ten feet away.

He almost fell, a couple of his fingers slipping right after catching hold of the edge, but then he was able to pull himself up and wince at the collapsed tunnel behind him.

"Why did anyone even invent this kind of place?" He asked of the air. His voice sounded hollow, traveling in the confined space. Will got to his feet and started walking, glad for the occasional burning torch to keep him from being completely blind.


	5. Chapter 5

After one long winding staircase and several sharp and confusing turns, the three came to an open room. Though torches lined the walls, the ceiling was tall enough to be shrouded in shadows, and columns threw shade in all directions.

Sensing the open space, the woman walking behind them strode forward, going right up to the nearest column and placing her hand upon it. Hazel frowned, holding Nico back for a moment.

"Are you sure she's blind," Hazel asked. "Did she say something to you?"

Nico shook his head. "I saw her eyes, Hazel. Gray and white. She's blind."

"Does that look blind?" Hazel pointed to the woman as she moved with determination across the room; a limping kind of movement, but strong and confident.

Nico couldn't help but mentally agree. "They didn't have contacts in her time, Hazel. C'mon or do you want to lose track of her?"

She could hear them., but it had been a long time since she had cared what others thought. Not even discovering she was no longer alone with her ghosts would change that. To her, the only difference was that they were real and knew Chiron.

Chiron. She paused, wondering if he would still be angry at her for the way she left. There had been a lot of yelling on both sides. He had been upset that she had abandoned her quest. Not quite as upset as Apollo, but enough to get her yelling back.

She shook off the melancholy and continued onward. Though she was blind, through her bare feet she could feel the stone walls and columns like an extension of her skin. The cold and the heat, smooth or rough, she moved along without any hesitation. She moved to the far side where a panel felt separate from the rest. She placed her hand upon the wall and sensed the mechanism on the inside. The iron was rusted in place so that no matter how she pushed it refused to budge.

Watching for only a moment, Hazel shortly turned her attention elsewhere. She too could feel the hidden doorway, but was now trying to find another route.

Nico started when the woman waved him forward. He didn't move right away so she pointed to the spot next to her and said one word in Ancient Greek, "Stand."

He stepped foward and she let go of her staff, swaying a bit before he realized she needed support. Luckily, she was only a few inches taller than him and not very heavy, but extremely lean and muscled. Putting an arm around her waist, he felt a gash under her gown that felt deep enough to kill.

Lifting both her hands, she touched the gears within the wall with her mind and twisted. The metal creaked and screeched as it moved for the first time in a millenium.

Hazel clapped her hands to her ears as the high pitched tone, much like nails on a chalkboard, echoed. Her teeth ached. Hazel watched the woman move her hands as if turning knobs and pushing objects to the side in front of her, all in time to the screeching they could all hear.

With a groan, the hidden door ground back and to the side. Beyond they could see a dark unlit hall.

"It could at least have light," Hazel muttered. Unaware of Hazel's complaint and unconcerned, the woman walked forward, her staff once more in her hand and tapping along at her side.

The hall was squarely cut and plain, but smooth in a way she had never felt. While Hazel and Nico were both equal parts surprised and amused that the stone had a machine polish feel, Their new companion was unnerved. her staff kept sliding when she put it down, until eventually, it completely slid to the side and she fell, her leg giving out from so much activity.

By now, they were far enough in that neither of them could see a thing. They heard a clatter and a grunt and looked toward each other without actually seeing the other.

"Everything alright," Hazel asked.

"Wasn't me." Nico answered. His next step made a stony clacking noise, his foot kicking the staff lying on the ground. He reached down to pick it up when it slipped away from his fingers.

"Alright?" He asked, stumbling as he almost mispronounced the word in Ancient Greek.

She snorted. "The world is so full of strange things, I should not be so bothered by this inconvenience. I am fine, child."

Nico winced. "Sorry, what?"

He started when a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

"I fell," she said simply.

He helped her up, and once she had her balance back, she continued on, moving slower so she could keep her weight off her bad leg. It meant leaning on the wall, but she made progress.

Hazel almost squeaked delight when they saw a lit exit. She ran ahead, eager to get out of the pitch black. She burst out of the tunnel into another expansive room. This one was brightly lit, three stories tall and crisscrossed with cat walks and platforms. Two more entry ways were on the other side across a ten foot gap and she could feel a tunnel up near the ceiling.

Nico came out in front, shading his eyes as he emerged. He scanned the room, noting all the exits he could see and then they all heard a yell up high, followed by a flash of movement.

Diving to the side of the opening, Will tumbled along the ledge, turning back to see the tunnel sized boulder roll out and off into space, smashing through one catwalk and bouncing off the wall and down the gap in the floor.

"Will!" Nico yelled, trying to see a way up there.

"Nico!" Will leaned over the side enough to see. "You're okay?"

"Yeah." Spotting a ramp that seemed to go that direction, Nico headed over. "Hang on, we're coming up to you."

From where he sat, Will couldn't quite tell how he was going to get down or how Nico was going to come up. The ledge he was on turned to some stairs going down one level and around the corner before cutting clear across the room. A steep ramp slanted in the other direction over that walkway.

He jerked back from the edge as the ledge began to shake. Just a little vibration at first, but it spread to the rest of the room. Nico froze, concerned with what was going to happen next.

The ledge folded under him. Will dropped scrambling for something to hold onto. while the wall provided no grip, he fell nearly right on top of a catwalk one floor down. It was a thin plank only a couple feet wide, allowing him to get his arms over it and stop his fall, but he could not pull himself up.

"Nico!" He strained to hold on. "A little help?"

The shaking had caused some of the walkways to crumbled, falling on the trio on the floor. Nico sprinted back, pulling Hazel down and to the side as the large slabs of rock almost crushed them. Both of them were immediately on their feet, dodging yet another rock and cracked and splintered. Nico sprawled forward, covering his head. From there he saw Will hanging from the catwalk and felt his heart skip a beat.

"No!" He pushed to his feet. And then flinched as something shot past him. A spear that looked suspiciously like the woman's staff buried it's head into the wall under Will just as the boy fell. Will grabbed onto the shaft, his hands sweating badly.

Nico looked over his shoulder. She was sitting on the floor, surrounded by rocks and debri, muttering to herself in Greek, but focused. The debris around them rose up, flying together to form a long  piecemeal platform angled down to stable ground.

Seeing the new ramp under him, Will dropped and slid down. He got up only to be nearly taken down in a bear hug by Nico.

"Well," Will mused, "nice to see I'm appreciated."

Nico turned bright red and quickly stepped back. "I just- This place can be dangerous."

"No duh, you didn't go using shadows again, did you?"

"No," Nico muttered, feeling a little on the spot. "Are you hurt?"

"Nothing a bandaid won't fix. Our new friend on the other hand," Will said, trailing off as he looked over Nico's shoulder. In proper light, she looked even worse than before. She was covered in cuts and scratches, most of them quite large, including the one Nico had inflicted. "How is she still alive?"

Nico looked as well. "She said something about a curse. And she doesn't feel alive or dead, like stuck in the middle."

"You can talk to her?"

"A little. She speaks Ancient Greek."

 

She waited. There was no point to doing anything else. The two boys would talk and then they'd get around to leaving. She'd deal with needing her staff back when that happened.

Will walked over and knelt in front of her. She wondered what he wanted to say.

"Thank you," he said in Greek. She frowned, confused by the word though it sounded similar to what she knew.

"Thank you?" she asked. And he answered, but not in a way she understood. That she accepted as possibly an explanation or something similar. But then he sat down and started to sing.

Will hesitated when she lurched, curling around her leg. He hadn't noticed the weird way part of it was crooked. He leaned forward and gently placed his hands on her shin and continued to sing.

She could understand him. He was singing about Apollo and it would have made her angry, if not for how her leg was trying to force itself back together. The open unhealing wounds all over her body slowly closed though the pain remained.

Will started on a second verse, focusing the healing energy more. She twitched occasionally, visibly in pain.

And then it was over. She laid back, eyes closed and gasping for air. To everyone else she looked better, less haggard, but she still felt everything and that made it worse knowing he'd healed her injuries and she could still feel them. Her gasps for air turned to sobs.

The teenagers waited, anxious, but patient for the woman to calm down. Nico knelt next to Will, not touching him, but wanting to be close. he could still feel the heat in his cheeks from earlier.

When she opened her eyes, she yelled flinching and raising her hands in front of her face. Will leaned forward, concerned. She didn't yell again, only blinked rapidly.

"Light," she uttered. "There's light."

They traded looks. She stared at her hands. It wasn't perfect. Her eyesight had been crap even before the curse took it away. Even so, she was stunned to be able to see again.

Nico quietly inquired, "Are you alright?"

She sighed and dropped her hands. "Yes. Fine. Your friend. They healed my eyes. I was surprised."

"That's- That's great."

Then she smirked. "Nah, not much of a difference. I still can't see for shit."

Nico moved to stand over her. She shaded her eyes and squinted at him. Holding out a hand for her to grab. "Well, you are in for a treat. Shall we?"

She grabbed his hand. "Whatever that is supposed to mean."


	6. Chapter 6

By the time they reached the exit, they were all tired and feeling the need for a shower. There was a close call once when they almost took a wrong turn, but their new friend turned out to also have an uncanny sense of direction and corrected them. She still limped from the ghostly pain, but could walk without support.

The soil was wet from a recent rain. Overhead a mat of grey clouds tinted with red and purple moved slowly with the setting sun. A pair of Roman legionnaires stood together, talking about cute Greek demigods. Both of them held spears as if they were on guard, but were so at ease that it took a double take for them to notice the four climbing up out of the hole in the ground.

"By Jupiter," one exclaimed, "you're alive!"

Hazel scowled. "Of course we're alive. We were only gone for a few hours."

The other shook his head. "You've been gone for a week. There's a bet going on how long you'd be gone."

"A week?" Will moaned. "I had stuff to do."

Nico jammed his hands in his pockets. "Only to be expected in the Labyrinth. C'mon." He continued forward, heading towards the main cabin.

Hazel glanced at the woman next to her. She didn't seem bothered much, only staring at just about everything. "Um, Nico?"

Nico turned to look over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to take her to get cleaned up. Can you grab some spare clothes?"

He nodded, quietly upset with himself for not thinking of that first. "I'll meet you at the showers."

While Hazel  ushered a faintly confused demigod in the direction of a shower, Nico trudged uphill.  Will quickly confirmed that nothing terrible had happened during the week and then caught up with Nico.

"So, apparently there was some argument a couple days ago on whether or not to send a search party. Obviously didn't happen, but Reyna didn't like how long it was taking. That and some Roman rule about quests needing permission."

Nico nodded. "They have more rules about quests than us. Like, only those of certain rank and needing a prophecy. Sorry I dragged you into this."

"You did not drag me into anything. I ran after you, remember?"

"Same difference."

"You are impossible.  Where are you even going? I thought we were going to go get Chiron."

Nico had made a turn towards the cabins. "To borrow some of Hazel's clothes. She's about the right size."

Will disagreed, "Hate to break it to you, but that stranger is more ripped than either you or Hazel. Old world heroes are totally different stock."

"What did you do, feel her up?" Nico scowled, hating the ache in his chest.

"Didn't need to. Greek outfits are a bit showy when they're all cut up. I wasn't staring, I was healing her, okay?"

"Okay. I'm still going to borrow some of Hazel's clothes. Have you seen what Ancient Greeks used for underwear?"

"You spend too much time with dead people," Will commented, glancing at the Poseidon Cabin as they heard laughter from it. "Us living folk are more interesting."

Nico picked up his pace. "Some of you at least."

"Glad you agree." Will kept up. "There was this girl in my fifth grade class, dolled up every day and flirted with every guy in the class. She was the worst though. Hated that I didn't like her."

Ducking into the Hades cabin, Will waited in the doorway while Nico looked through his sister's clothes.

"You know," Will thought aloud, "Isn't a bit creepy to be digging through Hazel's clothes for underwear? I know she's your sister, but it's girl stuff."

Nico balled up a wad of cloth in a t-shirt. "Will, I practically took care of my sister Bianca. This is nothing new to me."

"Just saying."

"You don't have to stay with me, Will. I can do this on my own."

Will hesitated. He looked like Nico had suggested he go test gravity. "I- I'd rather stay with you. My siblings are either out right now or asleep."

"Alright. Up to the big house then? For shirt and pants."

"And Chiron." They began walking back.

 

"Oh my goodness, stop," they could hear Hazel shrieking, laughing loudly inside. Nico and Will traded confused looks. Chiron snorted and stepped up to the bath house door to knock loudly. Hazel came to the door, dripping with water.

"Everything alright in there, Hazel?" Chiron queried, frowning past the half open door. Hazel quickly shut it.

"You should have seen the way she jumped when I showed her the shower. It was hilarious. Did you bring clothes? Hers were a mess."

Nico edged around the centaur and pushed the bundle of clothes at Hazel. "Did she splash you?"

"She's playing with the water." Hazel took the clothes and grinned. "Not surprising considering she speaks Ancient Greek and a little Latin. Give us a few minutes. I only just got her to use the shampoo."

Hazel slipped back inside and made her way towards the showers. She could hear disjointed Greek and giggling.

"I have clothes," Hazel said, knowing she would not be understood. It was more to get the stranger's attention than anything else.

All of a sudden, the woman peered out from behind the partition, black hair glossy and still spotted with suds. She spoke rapidly, obviously excited. Hazel sighed. She reached up and wiped off the bubbles, miming while she spoke.

"You have to wash all of it out. Yes, All Of It. Oh, in the name of- Give me a sec."

Hazel set aside the new clothes and stripped off her shirt so she could help the woman wash properly. It took longer than normally because she wasn't completely cooperative, getting Hazel rather wet in the process.

Fifteen minutes later, Hazel guided the woman out the door, redressed in an orange camp t-shirt and a pair of black baggy jeans. She squinted in the dark up at Chiron and grinned.

"Looking good, Chiron," The woman said. "How long has it been since you were being an ass?"

Chiron stared. "This is- impossible."

"Shut your mouth, Chiron. It's possible, I'm still around, and you look like a fat tuna."

He scowled. "You still have the tongue of a sailor. How are you alive?"

She shrugged. "Cursed. Thanks to your crappy murder quest. How'd that go, by the way, when the fuckers never came home? Did you have fun dealing with that backlash?"

Chiron snarled, "You made that mess, Lilianah! Do not even dare blame any of that on me. Not when..." He trailed off, his expression softening, "Not when Mr. D will have enough wrath for the both of us to deal with in the morning."

"Do not call me that, Chiron. And who the Hell is Mr. D?"

Nico cleared his throat. They both whipped around to look at him. "Sorry, but clue the rest of us in, please?"

Chiron looked down at Nico and Hazel with a fond look. "My apologies, Nico. Allow me to introduce Lilianah, Daughter of Hades. Older than you by over a couple millennia."

"Lily," she hissed. Hazel met Nico's eyes and then really looked at Lily. She cleaned up nice, black hair sleek and wavy, but her silver eyes had a dark light in them as she eyed Chiron.

"She's our sister?" Hazel asked.

"Completely, and unfortunately." Chiron rolled his eyes up to the sky. "I only can pray nothing disastrous happens."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nico asked, his face all scrunched up. "You sound as if she's a terrible person."

"Not exactly, more like she cares about the wrong things. You'll figure it out once you spend enough time with her. If she cares to stay." He switched back to Greek to pose a question to Lily who answered with a shrug and a gesture that made Chiron glare at her. He looked down at Nico.

"Show her to the cabin. She'll need to get used to modern things, oh, and learn to speak english eventually. I'd ask you to keep her out of sight for a few days, but I doubt she'd make that easy, so I won't bother."

To Lily, he glared again. "This isn't over. You'll have to deal with the Gods now that you are back. Do try and not get anyone else killed."

Lily waited until Chiron's rump was turned and trotting away before she stuck her tongue out at him. Hazel smiled, thinking that getting to know Lily would be interesting to say the least.

Nico held out his hand for a handshake. Lily looked at the hand and then at his face. "My name is Nico, Son of Hades," He said in Greek. Her eyes widened. When she still didn't take his hand, he jammed it into his pocket. "This is Hazel, Daughter of Pluto, Dad's Roman side."

"Roman," Lily muttered the way one might mention a nuisance. "We were never that friendly before."

He did not comment, only asked for her to follow them to their cabin. It had been a long day and no one wanted to try and explain the last few months right then. There would be plenty for her to learn starting in the morning.


	7. Chapter 7

Everything was new. The footwear was fascinating to look at, but she had no desire to wear them since they would keep her from being able to feel the ground. Clothes had really changed. The stuff that Hazel leant her fit so snugly, Lily felt a little self-conscious when she joined everyone for breakfast. Even if most everything was little more than a blur of color, she could see that some wore orange and other wore purple. It took her a good few minutes to learn why because Nico was groggy and not completely awake.

When they sat down at what Hazel called the Hades' cabin table, Lily became fascinated by the silverware. The knives were not at all sharp, with a blunt rounded shape and the forks were an amusing idea. Even more amusing was all of them being made of metal.

She was being stared at. With her feet on the ground, she could tell. Lily ignored them. She was happy to find the way the meal went was the same as ever. Though Hazel seemed to be a little unhappy about Lily's lack of grace and habit of eating with her fingers, she didn't say much about it, only made faces which Nico snickered at.

She and Nico spent the morning walking the grounds. She was beginning to really grasp how much time had passed and most of her questions were on what things were called in English. By the time Noon passed, she was piecing together some very awkward phrases.

The most surprising thing for Lily was seeing an airplane pass overhead. Not that she'd ever wanted to fly, but the very idea, after Nico explained, of humans being able to travel in such a fashion seemed impossible. She wouldn't have known it was there if not for her intimate sense of any metal or rock in her vicinity.

She didn't share any of her abilities with him or Hazel during the day. Nor did they ask, for both of them were more interested in sharing their world with her. Which happened to include two others coming up to say hi while Lily was sitting with Hazel on the hill over the training arena after lunch time.

Hazel smiled warmly as Percy walked up to them holding hands with Annabeth. She wanted to spend time with Frank, but with his new position as Praetor, he was too busy right then with all the preparations to return to Camp Jupiter within the next few days.

"Hi, you two," Hazel said. "Come to check out the new girl?"

Percy smirked. "Nico was up this morning. I'd have thought it was impossible to get him out of bed so early."

"More like he didn't sleep well last night. Otherwise, I'd agree with you. Nico getting up in the morning is like the sun coming up at night."

"So," Annabeth said, looking at Lily, who was blankly gazing off at the arena, "Who is your new friend?"

"My sister, apparently. Lily- Lily!" Hazel waved her hand in front of Lily's face to get her attention. "I want you to meet my friends."

Lily squinted up at them. "Hello?"

"Percy, Annabeth, This is Lily, my half sister from like a couple thousand years ago. She was stuck in the Labyrinth."

"But she speaks English," Annabeth pointed out.

Catching only a third of what Hazel said, Lily remained confused until she heard what Annabeth said. Lily differed, "Learn today."

Hazel grinned. "Until this morning, she didn't speak a lick of English. It made for quite the interesting experience."

Lily eyed Hazel suspiciously. "Are you making fun of me?" she asked in Greek. Of course, Hazel and Percy didn't understand, but Annabeth took a step back and snickered. Lily turned her gaze towards her.

"You understand me?"

Annabeth folded her arms and responded in Greek. "Most of us can understand Ancient Greek, we can certainly read it, but No one really practices speaking it. Unless you happen to be really smart; like me. My mother is Athena, so it comes naturally."

Lily smirked, "And as arrogant as all her children are. Yes, you are smart, but you too have your limits as do we all."

"That was oddly profound for a child of Hades," Annabeth returned. "Aren't you guys all emo and all about justice?"

"If you could feel the ebb and flow of life itself, you would be... emotional... or whatever. Not me specifically, but I can feel all your pain, Annabeth."

Annabeth made a face.

"You have been through a tragedy. Tartarus will do that to a mortal mind. It is terror and tears and worse. Do not fret, you are not the first and you will not be the last. Child."

"Creepy. And I am not a child."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen, That's practically an adult these days."

"Practically an adult?" Lily scoffed. "You're either grown up or you're not. There is no almost. No falling short by just a little."

"That's easy for you to say, being way older than the rest of us."

Lily stood up. Hazel cringed, leaning away from her sister.

"That's where you guys train to fight monsters, yes?" Lily asked.

Annabeth looked down the hill. She looked back at Lily. "Duh. That's obvious."

"I'm extremely near-sighted. Should make it easy for you to beat me in a duel, right?"

Lily strode down the slope, determined and unwavering, her barefeet padding silently in the grass. Annabeth looked to Percy for help, but he only shrugged.

"Everything okay," Hazel asked.

Annabeth made the switch back to English. "I think she wants to fight me to prove her point. I don't even understand what point she is trying to make."

"Fight? What were you even talking about?" Percy stared, hand going into his pocket where Riptide was.

"Age. I didn't like how she called me a child."

"She Is way older than us," Hazel offered softly. She was worried that if they fought, Lily would hurt Annabeth. The memory of her fight with Lily was still fresh in her mind. "And manipulates stone."

"Just because she's from the Ancient Era, doesn't mean she can treat the rest of us like babies." Annabeth felt her knife  at her hip. "I've faced worse than her."

"She's a child of the big three," Percy argued. "She's probably just as good in a fight as me or Jason. She'd cut you to ribbons."

"No one is going to die, Percy, but thank you for the warning."

"Then I'll fight her. She doesn't know what we've gone through."

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Whoever is going to fight, we should go down before she gets impatient."

Percy marched ahead, steeling himself. Annabeth took a moment to really look at Hazel's worried expression, and then, while walking next to her, asked, "Are you scared of Lily?"

"You weren't there." Hazel stuffed down a shudder. "She still has a feel of wrongness, but it was worse underground and she was using the cavern as a weapon, attacking us without even moving. If anyone else had gone down there; they'd be dead. Yes, I am scared, but not for myself."

"You don't think she'll hurt Percy, do you?"

"I don't know. I hope not."


	8. Chapter 8

By the time Percy reached the arena, the other training demi-gods had cleared the floor for Lily. She'd picked up a celestial bronze blade and was testing it's weight while she waited. He took out Riptide, uncapping the sword so it would transform. She turned to face him.

"Percy was it? Do you plan to fight for your betrothed?"

He frowned, not sure what she had asked. "Yes?"

Then she said a phrase he did understand. "To first blood, on your honor."

Percy raised his weapon, repeating the phrase back.

She didn't move. She stood there, blade held relaxed at her side. Percy waited a breathless moment and then ran in.

Lily moved in circles. Bringing up her sword to deflect his, she smoothly continued into a slash that started high and ended low. When he blocked and returned, she side stepped. He followed and she drew him in, moving just outside his range and again. As Percy edged in, unnerved by her lack of emotion, Lily kept in line.

Hazel lost her sense of worry as she watched. She saw none of the moves Lily had used before, just swordplay, and in that Percy had a chance. Annabeth saw her relax and did the same.

"Just going to run away?" Percy taunted, their swords clashing. He feinted. She swayed, sliding to the side and down, allowing his blade to slice through the air over her head, and cut upwards.

Percy jerked back, but she didn't press. She took a step back, eyes unfocused and directed downward. Percy closed in, moving fast.

Lily didn't look at him because she didn't need to. She could sense his footsteps and the hum of his blade. She knew his blade from the old days. Riptide was no stranger, though it had changed hands since then. She tested Percy, drawing him in to see how fast he reacted.

After a few trades, Lily keeping her distance and Percy getting nowhere, he started to get the feeling that she was playing him. He went through the motions, cutting in low and then high. She countered to his chest, but he moved first, avoiding the stab by an inch and lunging in at her.

Lily twitched. Riptide swerved away, pulling Percy off balance. He stumbled past her and spun on the spot, expecting an attack. Lily waited, the same look still on her face.

Annabeth frowned. "Did I see that right?"

"Did you see Percy just miss?" Hazel confirmed, "Yes."

"He did not miss, Riptide avoided her. On it's own."

"I guess."

"What's the excitement?"

They looked up at Chiron as he trotted over. He peered at the fighters, frown deepening as he recognized them.

Annabeth answered, "Lily wanted to fight me. Percy stepped in."

"How long has it been?"

"A minute or so. Why?"

"If he doesn't end it in another minute, he'll have lost."

Annabeth glared at him. "I know she's an old time hero, but there's no need to write Percy off."

Down in the arena, Percy pushed Lily back. She kept up, never moving straight back with each step. The air was tense. Percy ground his teeth, frustrated as she blocked again and shifted weight. He could feel sweat on his brow, yet, she remained cool and unhurried. Lily parried a heavy swing and slid to his left. He drew back and thrust hard. She neatly met and moved back. The ground shifted under her feet, the slightest warning of something wrong that she needed before the stone tiles split under the pressure of a geyser.

Water splashed over the arena floor and splattered Lily's clothes. She had just barely avoided being hit full force.

"Using God Powers now," She inquired in Greek. To Percy she sounded amused. He dove right in, moving the geyser around his waist and throwing right at Lily.

It was all she could do to not get knocked over. The geyser hit her square on, forcing her to dig her feet into the stones as if it were clay.

Tiles cracked, shooting up from the ground at Percy's feet and punching into his stomach. He coughed, losing hold of the geyser long enough for Lily to switch up her rhythm. She hacked, cutting three times in rapid succession and then shifted around his back, kicking up a few rocks into his face and thrusting in the moment he blocked the pebbles.

It happened so quickly that Annabeth started to cringe. Percy caught sight of her ploy in time to duck to the side. He cut upward, trying for a side slash, but she was just as fast, forcing him to back up instead of finishing the strike.

His footing slipped. The ground under his feet turned to mud as every rock and bit of stone moved towards Lily. Percy pulled on his geyser, covering the slop with a thin layer of ice he could walk on. Lily started forward and slid to one knee. Percy jumped at the opportunity, only to have Riptide nearly tear from his grip as the sword veered away from Lily.

"How are you doing that?" Percy growled in Greek. Lily paused, trying to understand the linguistic dissonances.

Chiron walked closer to them, remaining wary and ready to retreat at the slightest hint of danger. "Lilianah is capable of magnetism. She can control your weapon as if it were hers. Though, for now, all she can do is change the direction it goes. If she touches Riptide, you will have lost."

Not understanding what Chiron had said, Lily glared at him and growled, "Do not call me Lilianah, Ya Old Turnip."

Percy gagged. He was running out of ideas and energy. Reaching deeper, he sent a stronger burst of water at Lily. Knowing what to expect, Lily dodged to the side, avoiding more than a light spray. She stabbed her sword into the ground as she felt her balance slide and pulled on the earth. The layer of ice cracked, spears of stone shooting up all around. Chiron reared up, narrowly avoiding a hit. Percy danced back from two at his feet and felt something tear through the back of his shirt.

“What in the name of Myself, is going On!” Chiron looked up and saw the grumpy large man striding over the crest of the hill with a can of diet coke in hand. His momentary grimace turned to dread as he saw the man turn purple with rage.

“Percy, move!” Chiron bellowed as the grass rippled.

Earth, stone and ice shattered as long forgotten roots sprouted stems from beneath the arena floor. Grass wrapped its long blades around Lily’s legs even as thistles snarled over her sword and arm.

Lily wrenched up her sword, forcing it free only to be pulled from the back as vines grasped her shoulders and chest.

“Mr. D, what are you doing?” Hazel screamed, horrified. The normally complacent God of Wine, ignored her, purple eyes focused only on Lily.

One arm trapped to her side, Lily struggled to breath as the variety of vines tightened their grip across her chest and climbed up to her throat.

He walked down to her, increasing the pressure with every step until he stood in front of her.

“You should have died with her,” he spat.

Lily looked up, feeling a touch lightheaded. She wondered who he was, though she had a few guesses, but most of her didn’t care.

“You done yet?” She croaked.

Dionysus ground his teeth. The can of soda in his hand crumpled. “Do not mock me,” He yelled, making the plants tighten even more, cutting into her skin.

“Look,” she squeezed out past the pain, “Fucker, I don’t know who you are, but this is boring.”

“Don’t know who I am! You killed my daughter and have the gall to talk to me that way?”

“Dionysus? Shit head like you doing here?”

“None of you damn business. Just die already."

Lily cringed as the vines cut deeper. She sighed and focused on what she could. The crumpled soda can in his hand shredded, turning into dozens of thing, razor-sharp needles. They flew around Lily, slashing the vines that bound her down. She surged to her feet, slashing at him with her sword.

She cut air. Dionysus leaned to the right, countering with a solid punch to her ribs. Lily grunted, taking one step back  and raising a hand almost as if in defense. He sneered.

"Do you think I care about when you want to give up?"

"Who said I was giving up? This ain't no bitching duel. Go to Hades." Lily clenched a fist. The ground opened and swallowed the God whole, closing up as she turned away, throwing her sword.

No one moved. They were all too shocked to know what to do. Lily ran her hands over her body, feeling all the new gashes on her arms and neck. Bruises striped her torso, a few turning to welts. She brought her hands up, running her fingers through her hair.

The ground burst and Dionysus pulled himself out, gasping for air. "You- Little- Bitch."

"Whatever." Lily glowered at him. "I've been called worse."

He climbed all the way out, brushing dirt from his clothes. As he stood upright, he really took a moment to look at her, to take in the borrowed clothes and unbleeding wounds he had inflicted.

"Why aren't you dead? Why aren't you _bleeding_?" He asked with gritted teeth.

"Why don't you ask your daughter? Oh wait, she died."

"Excuse me?"

"I told you. Killing me is a waste of time. You can thank your daughter for that. So Fuck off."

He failed to find a way to respond, glaring needles at her turned head with teeth bared. There was nothing he wanted to do than put Lily in a grave, but having failed that, there was nothing else much to do; except for one thing.

"I want you gone. Go with the Romans if you want, but I will not tolerate your presence in this camp."

Feeling a little better about himself, Dionysus stormed back up the hill, shortly ordering Chiron to get the arena fixed by nightfall or else.

When still no one dared to descend, Chiron gave a snort and trotted forward. Lily was pretending to care about her hair, absently braiding a few strands together.

"That was," Chiron mused, hesitating to touch on the matter, "just as bad as I thought it would be."

"Really?" Lily answered sarcastically, "I thought he was rather friendly for wanting me dead."

"Why aren't you dead? I get the feeling none of this is new to you."

She shrugged and stopped braiding her hair. "Doesn't matter. I was never welcome in the first place."

"So, Mr. D tells you to leave and you do? I admit that is a bit surprising."

"Why should it. It's my fault Phoebe is dead. He has a right to that much even if he can't kill me."

Chiron stamped his hooves. "Yes, That."

With a smirk, Lily started making her way out of the mess she created. The arena was a spectacle of mud, both frozen and slushy, stone shards sticking out of the ground all over and a knot of shredded plants.

"Will you at least fix the arena?" Chiron asked her, hoping for a few more moments of her good nature. "I know you can and it would take less time than asking the others to do it."

"Nope. Maybe if I was going to stay, but I'm leaving so not a chance, Horse-Butt."

"You made this mess, Lilianah!" He made a sharp turn to glare at her back.

She stopped for a moment and glared back at him. "Next time you call me that, I will knock you into next week. My Father calls me Lily."

"Well then, _Lily_ , you caused this, so fix it."

"Fix what? The fact that you guys okayed a hit on my life? The fact that it went badly and know everyone hates me for being a hero killer? The part where all of this isn't my fucking fault and you're just being shit faced about it. Lovely seeing you again, Chiron, but I'd rather not."

Wanting to do nothing more than punch something, Lily settled for storming back the hill to Hazel. The girl had her hands up over her eyes and peeked out once as Lily approached.

"Are you done? Is anyone dead?" She asked. Lily frowned.

"Dead?" Lily inquired of the english word.

Looking a little red in the face, Annabeth translated, "She wants to know if you killed anyone."

"Oh. No, Hazel. I not kill."

Hazel then smiled and hugged Lily. "I'm glad you're okay," she said with her arms wrapped around a perplexed Lily's waist.

"Uhhh, yeah." Lily looked to Annabeth for explanation but the blonde girl just giggled and shrugged. Lily carefully pried Hazel off and tried not to look too annoyed.

"Sorry," Hazel apologized. "You look terrible. I'm going to go get some ambrosia." Looking a little put out, Hazel turned and ran.

Annabeth folded her arms and said delicately in Ancient Greek, "You could be nicer."

"I could be many things, Child of Wisdom. But I am not. Also, unfortunately, the duel was interrupted. Your betrothed is quite strong."

"My- My what?" Annabeth felt like her eyes would pop out.

"Are you two not promised to each other? My apologies."

"I mean we're dating, but he hasn't officially proposed yet."

Lily squinted at her. "What is dating?"

Annabeth explained, "It's like getting to pick and choose before marriage. Less getting stuck with the wrong person for the rest of your life. Once you get the hang of this era, you should give it a try."

"No thanks." Lily fingered the vine glove on her left hand. "I've had enough relationships for one lifetime."

"Maybe later then. Looks like Hazel's coming back. I should go check on Percy."

Passing Annabeth on the way, Hazel ran back to offer Lily a piece of ambrosia.


	9. Chapter 9

"Pass me the gauze?" Will asked, sticking his hand out into the space next to him. Nico looked down at the box of medical supplies in his lap and pulled out the box of gauze to hand to Will. "Thanks."

"This is a lot of stuff," Nico said as Will put the box up on the shelf.

Will neatened the shelf. "We used a lot after the war with Rome. Okay, Tape?"

Nico handed over the requested item. "Where do you get it? Kroger?"

Will laughed. "Chiron orders it. Maybe he's got some special supplier."

The door opened as Butch stuck his head in. "Dude, you missed the most epic fight ever!"

"What?"

"That new girl, the one you brought back to camp, Nico, she went at it with Percy." Butch came all the way in. "It was awesome. At first they were just going at it with swords, but then Percy made a geyser and she started showing off some super cool earth moves. Like she literally made the arena explode in spikes. The arena is completely busted. Oh, and that's not even best part. Mr. D apparently knows her and the instant he showed up, he attacked her. Boom, boom boom, he tried to kill her, but couldn't and then she made the earth swallow him."

Will held up a hand. "Slow down, what the heck are you talking about?"

"The Greek girl is a badass fighter is what I'm talking about."

"Lily fought with Percy and Mr. D?" Nico stared. "Is Percy okay?"

"Yeah, no everyone's fine, but you should have seen it. It was incredible!"

Will started reaching for bandages. "I've seen what Lily can do. Are you sure everyone's okay."

Butch nodded vigorously, sitting on one of the empty beds. "I mean Lily was covered with cuts, but she didn't seem hurt by it. She's a strange girl."

"She's like Ancient," Nico muttered.

"That just makes it better! Could you imagine her training us?"

"Yes," Nico said with a hint of horror. "Please don't suggest it."

"Are you scared of her?"

"No." Nico quickly looked away. "She's just very not nice."

Will frowned at him. "She's nice enough."

"Nice like a cactus."

"She's your sister," Will exclaimed, aghast. "There are better things to say."

"She's been my sister for a day, Will. And I've learned, she's smart, inquisitive, and cold: ice cold."

"And she saved my life, remember?"

"Once."

"You are impossible."

"I am just saying. You've never really talked to her."

Will shook his head. "Whatever. I hope that changes."

Having been sitting there, listening, Butch cleared his throat. With both boys looking at him, he said, "Not going to get much of that. Mr. D basically exiled her after the fight."

"What?"

"No clue why. They were talking in Ancient Greek, so I asked Chiron, and Chiron said she had to leave."

"That is wrong," Nico growled. He stood up and stormed out the door.

Will took a moment to realize what had happened and then rushed out after Nico.

"Nico!"

"Chiron can't kick her out."

"I though you didn't like her."

Nico refuted, "I don't she's a nice person, but she's still my sister and if I get to stay, so does she."

"Okay, but do you really think you can change Chiron's mind?" Will walked fast to keep up with Nico's hurried pace.

"I just don't think it's fair. There he is. Chiron!"

Walking up to the big house with Reyna, Chiron looked around and spotted Nico and Will running over.

"Nico."

"Why did you kick Lily out? I thought you were cool with her being here?"

Chiron stomped a hoof. "That is slightly incorrect. My apologies, Reyna, but I need to do damage control."

"No worries, Chiron. We can continue discussing the move when you are done. I will wait in the house." Reyna nodded to Nico. "Hello, Nico."

Nico bumbled, "Hey, Reyna. So, Chiron, you mind explaining, because Lily has much right to be here as anyone else."

"Nico," Chiron eased, "I did not kick Lily out."

"Then what the heck was Butch jabbering about?"

"Mr. D is the one that wants her gone."

"Why?"

"Because he hates her and he can't kill her."

"That's it?" Nico growled. "On a whim?"

"Nico," Will said, trying to get him to calm down. Nico shook him off.

"Lily knows nothing of the current world. She can't even speak English yet."

"Not my choice. Lily can stay or go as she wants and she wants to leave. I was surprised, but there is nothing anyone could ever do to change her mind."

Nico took a step back. "I don't get it. Mr. D has a grudge and Lily just goes with it?"

"Mr. D has every right to not want her here."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means there is history. It is a very long story; a long and horrible story which I have no right to tell. Nico, Lily was a single child in a time when things were very different. Extremely different. Everyone treated her like a normal person until she discovered her father. The opposite of your life."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"It's not like you won't see her again," Will said, wanting the pained look in Nico's eyes to go away. His fingers brushed Nico's shoulder. "She's not gone yet."

Nico threw up his arm, pushing Will away. "Yet."

"I'm trying to help," Will cried.

"I don't want your help with this, Will." Nico stomped away.

"Nico!" Will threw up his arms and shot Chiron a desperate look. Chiron shrugged as if to say, oh well.

Nico picked up his pace as he returned to the cabins. It was hardly intention as he was too angry to think about much besides the source of his anger, but as he stormed back to his cabin, he ended up running the last several meters.

"Lily," he burst upon entering the darkness. She was barely more than a shadow on the bunk. Lily looked up and groaned.

"What?" Lily asked in Ancient Greek.

Responding in Ancient Greek, Nico asked, "Why are you leaving?"

"Because I fucking want to," she answered, bending her head once more. She was holding a fork in her hands, bending it back and forth like clay.

"I don't want you to."

"So?"

"So, stay. You've only been here for one day. Hazel leaves in two days. You still don't speak English. And-"

"Stop," Lily cut in, "just stop. Even if that Ass were not here, I'd leave."

"Why? Did someone say something? Did I say something?"

The fork flew out of her hand and struck the wall behind him. Nico gulped. With a metal twang, the utensil popped out of the bricks and hovered in the air in front of him.

"You see this? This is my power. Iron, Bronze, Copper, Silver, Gold. Obsidian, Granite, Sandstone. I move rock and metal like my own hands. And you think I'm scary from that little show in the cave? I don't do people and people don't do me. You're an idiot for trying to live among them like there's nothing wrong. You are a Son of Hades, a child of darkness and pain."

"It's different now," Nico argued, hesitating as the fork flew back into her hand. "I have friends here: Percy, Reyna, even Will. You can have that too, if you try."

"Not interested," She growled. "They just stab you in the back eventually."

"Does that have anything to do with you fighting Mr. D?"

"Curious?"

"Obviously. All I know about you is a bedtime story Persephone told me and that you're really hard to talk to."

She floated the fork across the room and back. "Persephone, huh?"

"You met her?"

"A few times. We had an up and down relationship. So what'd she tell you?"

"That you had a terrible life and made a vow of vengeance for whatever reason. A fight with other demigods I think."

"Accurate enough. The details hardly matter. Either way, I leave."

"Would you at least give it a few days? I don't want to lose you."

She froze, staring at the bunk across from her as the fork fell to the floor with a clatter. Nico held his breath, expecting some icy retort any second. She blinked rapidly and rubbed her eyes.

"Well, that was unexpected. You're scared of me, no?"

"You could probably kill me without a sweat. Doesn't mean I don't want you around. You're family."

"You realize 'Mr. D' will throw a fit if I stick around?" Lily summoned the fork back to her hand.

"Can't you get around that?"

"Nope. Kinda tough to get around grief." Lily scowled at nothing and threw the fork into the wall.

Nico watched as she pulled the fork back into her hand. "Grief? Someone you know?"

"None of your business. I will talk to Hazel. Maybe there is room for me where she is going."

"That sounds great," Nico said, perking up a little. "New Rome would be a great place for you to get used to modern times."

She made a face. "They call it New Rome? Might as well call it New Athens."

"Romans, remember?"

"Yeah, whatever. Fucking prissies if you ask me."

"Reyna is not a prissy."

"Your girlfriend?"

Nico turned red. "She's just a friend. A really good friend and also Praetor of the Roman Legion. She's anything _but_ a prissy."

"Lovely. Roman, Praetor, and an Ass."

Nico huffed, "You want to be grumpy about it, fine, but do it in silence. Or out of earshot. Yeah, I think I'm going to leave you to curse random strangers on your own."


	10. Chapter 10

Hazel was torn out of a nightmare about Frank being eaten alive by a great serpent to the sound of yelling. She blinked, trying to see in the dark of the cabin. Then she heard Lily let out a scream from her own bunk. Nico sat up so fast he hit his head on the bed above him.

Hazel took precious seconds to untangle her sheets from around her legs and stumble from her bed to Lily's.

"Lily?" Hazel whispered, reaching out with both hands.

Lily moved with startling speed the moment Hazel's fingers brushed her skin. Hazel found herself being pulled hard forward, Lily's fingers on her wrist like a vise. There was a scraping noise that Hazel remembered from the cavern.

"Lily, stop!" Nico tumbled from his coffin, trying to keep his heart out of his throat. "It's just us."

Lily froze, her face inches from Hazel's with five shards torn from the stone floor hovering in the air. For a moment, all they could hear was Lily's heavy breathing and Hazel gulping in fear. Then Lily let her go.

"Sorry," Lily muttered, using English for Hazel. Hazel clutched her wrist, taking one slow step away. The shards of rock clattered on the floor.

Nico moved forward, asking in Ancient Greek, "What happened?"

"Nothing," Lily replied and ran her fingers through her hair.

"It was a nightmare, right?" Nico held up a hand, but hesitated at actually touching her. "We all get them. You should know that."

"Nightmares are visions of the future, Nico," Lily sighed, switching languages. "This is a dream about my past."

"Did you have to try to kill me?" Hazel snapped.

"I said sorry, Hazel. I wasn't dreaming about sunshine and poppies," Lily snapped back.

Hazel hesitated and then asked Nico for a translation. After Nico gave her a quick paraphrase, Hazel sniffed. "Well, try not to do it again."

"Oh, yeah, because I totally have control over my instincts when asleep. Quit your bitching and deal with it."

Hazel stiffened at Lily's offensive tone and looked to Nico for help. He waved her back.

"It's okay. You can go back to bed, Hazel." Nico glowered at Lily. "And you, back off. It's the middle of the night."

"Oh, good. I'm going out for a walk." Lily stood and made for the doorway. Nico jumped in front of her.

"Woah, we don't go out at night. There's a curfew."

Lily scrunched up her face as she dithered over yet another new word. "Curfieu?"

"Uh, stay inside after dark or get mobbed by the harpies. Look, no one goes out after nightfall."

"I can handle harpies. Get out of my way, Nico." Lily raised her hand slowly. Nico flinched.

"Fine, do what you want." He stepped to the side, opening a path. "Just quit being a stuck-up about it."

Without another word, Lily swept out of the cabin. The cold night air hit her in the face like a refreshing bucket of sea water. She paused for a heartbeat, breathing in deep and then took off running.

Lily took in everything. The coolness of the grass blades on her feet. The dry cracked dirt. The sharpness of the air as she breathed it in. The tightness of the pants she was wearing. Every aching step.

Lily ran out of the circle of cabins and headed for the forest. The sound of wings filtered in past the crickets and whistling wind. Lily looked up, but the harpies were still hidden in the dark of night.

She took a deep breath, looking for the feeling she hadn't touched in ages. She pictured a girl with shiny golden hair woven with daisies and a laugh like a porcelain wind chime. She wore a red chiton and ivy decorated her skin like jewelry.

Lily wiped away an unbidden tear and let the memory come to life. Phoebe smiled and twirled, showing off her new outfit. Though to Lily, she was little more than a blur, she knew every detail. She looked up as the harpies came close enough that Lily could hear their shrill voices.

"After Curfew!" a couple screeched while others said other variations, none of which Lily could understand. Throwing up a hand, Lily gave the Mist a subtle tug, letting her memory become the only thing visible. Phoebe stuck her tongue out at Lily and dashed off, chiton flapping in an imaginary wind. The harpies turned to follow.

Lily waited a moment to make sure they were all gone and then ducked for the tree line. She felt a subtle shift, a footstep where there shouldn't have been.

Passing a thin oak tree, she dropped and rolled as a bronze blade cut through the air.

"Nikolas." Lily dodged behind another tree. His blade cut into the bark. Nikolas was robust and tan from hard work under the sun. His black hair was cut perfectly to frame his face and not get in his eyes. He wore white and a wreath, in honor of his mother, like a crown. "You're not real."

His voice echoed in her head, all the more proof that this was more of the usual.

"I'm as real as everything else, Lilianah." He laughed and lunged. She ground her teeth and pulled from under her feet. A single rock shot up from the dirt and pierced his chest. Nikolas turned to mist, washing over her as harmless as the breeze.

Taking a deep breath, Lily closed her eyes and turned around to keep walking. The forest was quiet in it's own way. The sounds were what she tried to focus on. The soft wind in the leaves still turning. The crunch of matted branches and seeds under her feet. The crickets chirping in the distance, always still when she got near. The buzz of bugs in the air as they flew low to the ground.

"It's like they feel it too," Phoebe said. Lily jumped where she stood to find the girl walking next to her. Another memory out of control. "If you leave we won't be able to walk like this; together where no one can see"

"Go away," Lily muttered to herself. She tried to walk faster.

"Oh, don't be like that. Lily."

She could remember how it had gone. Phoebe stepped in front of her. Lily avoided eye contact. Phoebe had, well, been insistent.

Lily punched a fist through Phoebe's face, turning the memory to mist. "Go Away."

Forcing any more related thoughts from her mind, Lily kept on with no goal in mind. She took random turns, losing herself in the similarity of the forest at night.

Hearing laughter, Lily stopped to look around, but only saw the trees. She let out a sigh and rubbed her neck. It had been a long time since she had been under the open sky at night.

The laughter was more like soft giggles accompanied by splashing. Lily slowly moved towards the noise.

 Two young sprites stood knee deep in a pool springing from a crack in the rocks. Though the trees' branches stretched above, there was enough light from the heavens to allow Lily a shadowy scene. She knelt, touching her fingers to the dirt to feel the vibrations more. The sprites did not sense her yet, too absorbed in their fun. They dipped fingers into the silvery water, flicking droplets at each other.

Smiling as she realized there was nothing to be bothered with, Lily stood to go. One of the sprites saw the movement and dove under the water with a squeak. The other whirled, eyes wide.

"Sorry, I did not mean to disturb." Lily backed out of the light. They watched long after she was gone.

Lily walked for awhile, careful to not come across anything else, eventually settling in a small rocky cove for the rest of the night.


	11. Chapter 11

"How I look?" Lily asked in her best English, turning from the mirror. It was the wierdest day of her entire life. She was standing in what Hazel had called an Eye Doctor's Shop, trying on face glass, or maybe it was just glass. The words got confusing when one was learning a new language at the same time as a new way of living. In addition to the simple gray glasses perched on her nose, she wore newly bought pair of baggy jeans and a black T-shirt. It didn't quite fit right over her muscles, but she wasn't sure how to ask about that, so didn't. The part she disliked the most was the socks and sneakettes, or was that Sneakers. She had never worn footwear before because of money at first and then with her eyesight going, she relied more on her earth sense. Now she felt blinder than a bat on Opium, not to mention the footwear even felt squishier than she felt was necessary.

Hazel giggled, but not at Lily, rather at Lily's unspoken awkwardness. Getting the day off from training to take Lily out on the town had been the best thing ever. Hazel hoped taking her older sister for ice cream would be just as fun as shopping for clothes. The eye exam had certainly been entertaining, but a little stressful for the doctor when the equipment kept trying to jump out of his hands due to Lily's nerves.

"You look great. Like one of the family."

Lily scowled, though Hazel had no clue why. "That was no meaning- not me- not my meaning," Lily said, pulling the glasses off with some difficulty. "Maybe not good idea, this face glass."

"Glasses," Hazel corrected. "And of course they're a good idea. You want to see again, right? Like the rest of us?"

"I am different. Not you."

"I know. I know." Hazel took the glasses from Lily and approached the clerk.

Lily turned back to the mirror and stared at her blurry reflection. She didn't remember what it was like to see things clearly. The prospect almost seemed scary and that scared her.

The mirror cracked down the middle as the metal backing bent in half.

"Could you not damage my equipment!" The eagle eyed doctor rushed over to take a look at the broken mirror. "Gods forbid you actually do some damage. You cracked it right in half. Lucky it isn't my only one, but I'd rather you out. Now, get out!"

Hazel was pretty sure what Lily said in Ancient Greek to the man was anything but civil. She looked over her shoulder as Lily nearly ran into the door. Lily stopped just short of walking through the glass and pushed on the metal bar. The clerk handed Hazel a receipt for picking up the glasses and wished her a good day.

"I'm very sorry," Hazel said to the doctor.

He folded his arms and grunted in reply. "Just go. I'll have the glasses ordered. Try to get her more used to the modern world by the time I have to examine her eyes again.."

"I will do my best. I hope you have a good day. A better day."

Hazel hurried outside, though her fear that Lily would wander off was unneeded. Lily stood in front of a display case of cakes half way down the block.

"Are you hungry," Hazel asked. "Though, cake is not a good lunch."

"You called it Cake?"

"Yes, Cake. A delicious baked dessert."

"It looks square." Lily leaned closer to the window. "And large. How do you eat cake?"

"With friends, usually." Hazel laughed. "Come on."

"Where?"

"To get burgers. Real food."

"Burgers." Lily made a face.

"Nico loves burgers from Mcdonald's. Don't know why, but he does."

Lily squinted at a sign reading 'Half price Heels'. "Okay."

New Rome was like any other city, with all the shops and businesses stacked in among apartments, though it was a-run with lamare and latin lettering mixed with English. Except it only made Lily uncomfortable. Hazel bubbled with energy as they walked from the doctor's to the local Burger Palace. Lily gazed around, eyes flitting from metal fixing, shop signs, display cases set with shelves, stone walls and tile rooftops. She barely kept track of what Hazel said, knowing only that she was speaking of her first meeting with Nico.

"Are you even listening?" Hazel accused.

Lily stopped to gaze up at the building next to them. "Where do you get so much metal? I have felt much of it beyond Camp Half-blood."

"Factories, mostly." When Lily gave her a confused look, Hazel elaborated. "We can, umm, mass produce, use machines instead of human smiths."

"Machines?" Lily inquired, "Like the nonsense Dedalus was famed for?"

"Simpler, but sort of, anyway, I was asking you a question. Did you hear me?"

"No, Sorry."

"What did you eat in Ancient Greece?"

"Fish and Cheese."

"Fish?"

In Ancient Greek, Lily said, "I am a fisherman's daughter. I grew up on fish, bread, cheese. Nothing fancy."

Hazel made a face. "In English please. I only understood three words out of all that."

Lily mimed using a fishing rod. In English, she managed, "One that fish. We were simple sea folk."

"Oh, you were fishermen?"

"Daughter of one, but yes."

"Do you know how Dad met your mother?"

"I never asked. Does it mean something?"

Hazel shrugged. "Just curious. Shall we go in?"

"This is where we buy burgers?"

"This is the Burger Palace." Hazel pulled on the handle and motioned Lily through.

Inside, Lily was assaulted with the smell of sweat and cooked beef. A hint of hot oil accented the scent of bread. The bright lights turned the colorful inside into a kaleidoscope, forcing Lily to squint just to make out Hazel on her way to the right. Stepping after her, Lily bumped into the display sign, nearly making it fall over in her haste to grab it.

Hazel stopped and looked back at her sister. Lily had the strangest look on her face, as if she wanted to hide in a corner.

"This way." Hazel took Lily's hand and guided her through the rails to the counter. The portly woman at the counter smiled through her teeth at them.

"Welcome to Burger Palace. Would you like to try our Special?"

While Lily scrunched up her face in an attempt to understand the question, Hazel gently shook her head.

"One Cheeseburger and one BLT; as meals, please."

The worker, repeated the order back to her, punching in buttons on the register. Lily listened to the sound of the words without really understanding. She knew the way it was phrased and knew she ought to understand it, but she was too distracted, too confused. Beyond the glaring lights and the brightly colored wall and the pattern floor, she could feel the steel in the back and under the counter. The air was cool, but it tasted like oil and salt. There were others in the restaurant, most attending to their own business, but at least one whispered hateful words to his friend. Lily turned slightly and the words cut short. After a tense moment in which Hazel happily told the woman what drinks they would like, Lily caught the quietest hiss of 'Bloody Grecan'.

"Here," Hazel announced, cutting into Lily's train of thought. Balancing a tray on one hand, Hazel guided Lily through the tables and a couple odd looks. She picked a table in the corner with several empty tables as a buffer between them and the other customers.  Lily sat down so she could face the wall and hide her eyes from the lights. Hazel set down the tray, moving one set of burger, fries, and drink in front of Lily.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked.

Lily cupped her hands around the plastic wrapped burger. "Lights are more bright than I want. What is this?"

Hazel munched on her own fries. "A cheeseburger. It includes a beef patty, cheese, ketchup and so on. You don't have an issue with eating beef, do you?"

"Beef, as in cow, yes?"

"Yes," Hazel responded slowly. "Beef is made from Cows. Are you going to eat or not?"

After a slightly embarrassing moment of almost eating the waxed paper wrapping, Lily bit into the burger.

Hazel waited a moment to see Lily cautiously tasting the food before unwrapping her own burger: the BLT.  Lily's face twisted after the first taste, her lips puckering as if she'd eaten something sour. Lily swallowed carefully and took another bite.

Hazel put down her own food as Lily made a face. "Is everything alright?" Hazel asked quietly.

Lily put a hand over her mouth as she finished chewing. "Tastes like, uhh, like I do not know. The bread, it is strange. The beef is salt."

"Salty? It's no saltier than normal." Hazel glanced at her BLT. "Do you want something else?"

Lily quickly shook her head. "No. I will eat the CheeseBurger. It is new."

Somewhat confused, Hazel opted not to reply. Lily slowly devoured the burger, occasionally making another strange face. They finished eating in silence.


	12. Bad Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out of the blue, Lily leaves Camp. Frank and Hazel team up to chase after her and see what's up.

Frank could not help but feel a smidge wary of the new Child of Hades. From his perspective, Lily was not only a complete mystery, but dangerous in a way he'd never sensed from Hazel or Nico. It was probably just his nerves after witnessing the aftermath of Lily's fight with Percy, but he couldn't shake the paranoia. He kept it to himself. Hazel loved having Lily around; showing the older Greek around New Rome and the camp. When they had time to themselves, which did not happen much with his new duties, she would talk about the way Lily reacted to things and things Lily said.

So, it was a sunny day when he was going over building plans with Jason and Reyna when a messenger ran up to them. They threw open the door of the meeting hall and sprinted across the floor.

"Praetors, Counsel, There's a problem!"

Reyna straightened. "Catch your breath and report. What kind of problem?"

"The Greek- Hazel's sister- she just attacked the door guards."

"What?" Frank jerked up.

"As I was told, she wanted to go out and refused to listen when they told her she needed permission to do so. She pinned them to the ground with slabs of stone."

Reyna looked to Frank. His expression was dark and murderous. "Frank, has Hazel mentioned anything that might hint at why this is happening?"

He shook his head. "According to Hazel, Lily was having a hard enough time adjusting to Our life here. She never mentioned going elsewhere. But is it the main concern our own people? Lily is not a Roman, nor is she truly a Greek in the same sense as Percy or Nico."

"Don't trust her, Frank?" Jason asked, his voice soft and thoughtful.

"No, I don't. She went head-to-head with a God with no hesitation. She's dangerous."

"Even so," Reyna cut in, "She is a demigod just like us. Frank, I'll leave this to you and Hazel. Help her or bring her back, but stay alive. Jason go check on the guards and assess any damage. We can continue this later."

"Agreed." Jason nodded to Frank sympathetically and flew out of the hall.

Frank frowned at Reyna. "Really? Bring her back? That sounds like it might be suicidal."

"Which is why I said to help her OR bring her back." Reyna smiled sympathetically. "I understand your unease about her. I could never imagine going against a God myself, though I've heard of Heroes doing it. To do so without blinking- it's a bit insane."

"Just a bit."

"Even so. This- Lily- she's new to our world. She has only spoken English for a few weeks. I doubt she has any clue where anything is, and as I understand it, she's blind."

"Extremely bad eyesight, but good as," Frank corrected without thinking.

"My point stands. She needs help and we're the only ones that can provide it. Find her. Find out what she's doing. Keep her from getting into too much trouble if you can. I would ask for guidance from the oracle if we had one."

"That.... makes more sense than bring her back if you can. Hopefully, this doesn't take too long."

"Hopefully. Good Luck, Praetor."

Frank smiled, still feeling the glow of the title. He bowed his way out of the hall and went to find Hazel.

 

He found her running drills with her squad. Frank took a breath to admire the way her eyebrows came together in focus, and then interrupted with a word. Hazel stepped out of line and approached him.

"Praetor?" She asked, careful not to let her emotions show.

"I need you to help me deal with Lily. She left New Rome moments ago without any warning."

"Oh. Of course."

Frank nodded to the waiting cohorts. "Continue." He turned on the ball of his foot and began walking up to the barracks.

"Did this just happen? Do we know where she's going?" Hazel asked, walking beside him.

"Unfortunately, no. Jason is checking on the guards right now. They tried to keep her from leaving and she attacked them, but. The rest, sorry." Frank sighed.

"I'm sorry too. I wish I'd seen this coming. Lily has been very curious about things, but I didn't think she wanted to leave that badly."

"It's not your fault," He assured, taking her hand in his. "None of us could have seen this coming."

"I still feel terrible. I've been trying so hard to make her feel comfortable here."

Frank stayed at the barracks door while Hazel grabbed her spatha and some outside clothes. After she returned in jeans and a black AC/DC shirt, they made a stop so Frank could get his own gear. Hazel remained quiet, somber until they reached the exit tunnel, and then outright sadness as she took in Jason helping the wounded with stone spikes in their shoulders and legs.

"I can't-" Hazel cringed, "I thought she was getting better."

Jason graced a wounded roman's arm with a touch of a hand and approached Frank and Hazel.

"Is it bad?" Frank inquired.

"It looks worse than it is." Jason nodded to Hazel. "Your sister avoided serious injury."

"Serious injury?" Hazel said, "This is nothing. I know that. What do you think will happen when she goes into civilization? She has power over metal, Jason."

"Then you best find her quickly. Frank, be careful out there? I only just promoted you."

"Thanks, Sparky," Frank joked.

"No problem. Good luck out there." He clapped Frank on the back and moved back to help the wounded onto stretchers headed down the hill.

"I hate this," Hazel muttered, only loud enough for Frank to hear.

He smiled sympathetically and took her hand in his. "Let's go bring your blind sister home."

She lightened up a little, feeling a rush from the texture of his calluses on her fingers. "You do remember she's not blind, right? Just like a bat?"

"Trying to make a joke. Sorry."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Where to first?"

"The tunnel, Silly."

Still holding her hand, Frank strode into the tunnel. Together, they walked out the other side and onto the highway.

"Now where?" He asked.

"Well, if you were a couple thousands years out of time, where would you want to go first?"

"I'd want to see a familiar face."

Hazel twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "She doesn't have any friends. Unless she's going back to Camp Half-Blood, but-"

"That's highly unlikely. I believe she was told to leave and never go back."

"Then who? The only other people she'd know are immortals and Gods."

"What about your Father?" Frank and Hazel met the other's eyes.

"You think she's going to the Underworld?"

"Familiar face."

"I suppose."

"You don't agree."

"I think it's worth a shot." Hazel looked down the highway. "Not like we have too many options."

"Cheer up. She only has an hour on us. At most. Why don't you call Arion and we can catch up to her in no time?"

That got a smile from Hazel. She whistled sharply, the sound traveling upward in the wind. A few minutes later, a dust trail appeared on the horizon, steadily growing closer.

Arion came to an easy stop in front of Hazel and sniffed at her face and hands. She giggled, running one hand over his face.

"Hey, boy. Didja miss me?"

Arion nickered, nuzzling her hand.

"Right, snack." She wiggled her fingers, summoning a few nuggets of gold out of the ground. Arion eagerly chomped them up out of her palm.

"You'll get more later," she crooned when he searched for more. "For now, Frank and I need a ride. We're looking for my sister."

He snorted and shook his head. She rubbed his neck. "Come on, Help us catch up with Lily and you'll get more gold to eat, promise."

"I could just fly along behind you," Frank suggested.

"We would leave you in the dust instantly." Hazel shook her head. "No, Frank. We ride together."

"Uh..." Frank's mind went blank. Hazel smiled up at him, amusement in her dark eyes.

"No need to be so surprised. I would never leave you behind."

After a few more gold treats and crooning, Arion ducked his head, letting Frank climb onto his back behind Hazel.

 

It didn't take long for them to catch up to Lily, though they did have to turn around after charging down the highway and finding nothing in the first few miles.

When they found Lily, dressed up in her jeans, skull t-shirt, and flower printed jacket, she stepped off the road. Her shoes were tied by the laced through her belt loops, and her black hair neatly bound up and out of her face.

"Lily," Hazel said, "Where are you going?"

"Elsewhere," Lily answered, tucking her hands into her pockets.

Frank awkwardly slid down from Arion's back. "And where is Elsewhere?"

"Not somewhere you're going, Praetor."

Hazel cringed at the ice in Lily's tone. "Frank, please, let me handle this?"

He looked away.

Lily said, "You go back. Both of you. This is my journey."

"We're family, Lily. And it's dangerous to travel alone."

"And you think I will get hurt?"

Hazel hesitated to answer. "Well, no, not really, but-"

"The thought is nice, but I do not need it."

A minivan sped by, causing Arion to stomp his hooves in response.

"What about cars? And people? Money?" Hazel pursed her lips. "If you think the rest of the world is like New Rome, you are very mistaken."

Lily bit her lip. "Only to the entrance."

"The entrance of where," Frank demanded.

"The underworld, of course. Sylvia told me the entrance is in the city of Angels."

"Who's Sylvia?"

Hazel sighed. "Only the quietest member of the fifth cohort, Frank. Don't you remember? The romani, wears a hijab?"

"Oh. Her? She's Romani?"

"Yes. How do you not know her. It's not like she's invisible."

He cleared his throat. "Like you said, she's quiet. Anyway, you're going to the underworld?"

Lily scowled. "That is what I said. And if you insist of coming, that's fine, but only to the entrance. I don't have the drachma for the two of you to cross the river."

Hazel dismounted and kissed Arion's neck. "We got our own drachma, Lily."

Lily grimaced. "Fine, you can come with. What's with the horse?"

"Arion," Hazel smooched. "He's such a sweetie."

"Arion?" Lily hiccuped. "As in The Arion? Most fast horse ever?"

"I think you mean, fastest horse," Frank corrected.

"Fastest. Got it. Why is your language so strange?"

Hazel and Frank both laughed.

"Is that funny?" Lily squinted at the pair.

Hazel put a hand on Lily's arm. "It's not you, Lily. It's the language. So, Los Angelos?"

"Yes, City of Angels. What are Angels?"

"No, just Los Angelos. And Angels are..." Hazel happily dove into explaining the concept of angels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been awhile, but here we are. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy the read and follow me on Twitter for updates on this and all my other endeavors. @EmeryldLuk


	13. Nightmares and Questions

"It'll be fine," Hazel assured. She held out her hand to Lily. Lily squirmed where she stood on the curb. Already on the bus, Frank slid up to the window to peer out.

"You want me to get on a huge, giant, over large, chunk of metal? The other one was bad enough." Lily made a face, referencing the road trip from Camp Half-Blood to Camp Jupiter in a van.

"It's a bus, Lily. I do not want to walk all the way to the studio."

"A bus."

"Either get on or off!" the driver grumbled.

Panicked, Hazel lunged, pulling Lily onto the bus by force.

"Hazel!" Lily let out a string of Ancient Greek swears.

Hazel scowled at her. "Would you not?"

"I do not like this method of travel."

"You didn't complain about the vans."

"I did not speak your language then. Not well enough."

Hazel grinned and directed her to the open seat next to Frank. "You'll be fine."

Lily clenched her hands together, sitting in the seat. Hazel watched Lily fidget, eyes darting blindly around. Though she didn't understand why Lily was so nervous, she did understand the feeling. Lily nearly jumped as the bus turned a corner.

"Relax," Frank suggested. "Just like riding a bike."

"What is a bike?" Lily asked through gritted teeth.

"Uhh, its a like a small personal horse, just made of metal?"

"You not helping, Praetor."

"Sorry."

The bus shook. Hazel grabbed the rail and craned a look out the window at the sign flashing by. Lily let out another string of Greek swears.

"Would you quit swearing in Greek?" Hazel pleaded.

"Would you prefer if I swore in Latin? I know a few choice phrases."

"Wait, you speak Latin?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I lived the beginning of the Greek Roman argument."

"You mean fighting?"

"That stuff." Lily waved off. "Fighting, arguing, gaming. No matter."

"Okay, any other languages?

Lily smirked. "No speak it, I read Egyptian. Enough Persian to make it in a market. No need to stare."

Hazel looked like her eyes would pop out of her head at any moment. Frank's jaw was hanging a little slack.

"Sorry. Oh, I'm so sorry," Hazel quickly apologized. "I only th-ah!" She lurched off balance as the bus driver braked hard. Even sitting in her seat, Lily fell onto the floor. Frank slammed into the panel that separated them from the front.

"Damn, kids!" the driver yelled.

Glancing over, Hazel blinked as she saw three satyrs running across the road, dodging cars. Chasing them were half a dozen teenagers holding broken bottles, two by fours, and baseball bats.

"Oh, no. Frank, the Satyrs!"

Frank scrambled to his feet. "Open the door," he commanded upon rushing to the front. The driver started, opening the folding bus door more on instinct than anything else. Hazel gushed to herself how amazing Frank had become.

Lily stepped onto the street with a breath of relief. The two lane street was refreshingly stable under her feet, which Hazel had made her cover with shoes.

"Lily, C'mon!" Hazel yelled, dashing across the street into the scruffy looking yard the boys had charged through. Lily jogged over, stumbled over the curb and nearly ran into the neighbor's wooden fence.

With a sigh, Hazel stopped to take her sister's hand. "This is why you should have waited for your glasses."

"It's the shoes," Lily tried to explain, but Hazel wasn't listening. Lily still had a little trouble, tripping over a toy wagon and having to dodge a rose bush as they passed through the backyard into a park.

Charging ahead, Frank plowed into the boys as they lifted weapons. He ducked a baseball bat and punched a guy with golden yellow hair. The kid with the broken beer bottle took a wild swing and missed.

Hazel drew her spatha to parry one of the bigger blokes as he raised his two by four at Frank's back. They went back and forth a couple times before Hazel neatly knocked the weapon from his hand.

Lily had enough spatial awareness to put herself between the most vulnerable satyr and his assailant. She did not however, have the sight to properly block his heavy swing. Her partially raised arm folded to her chest and the bar of wood cracked into her shoulder, aimed at the smaller creature. She grunted and punched at the air. He laughed.

"What are you aiming at?" He taunted, cracking his weapon into her ribs this time.

Lily ground her teeth, making a mental note to ask Hazel for shoes that would be easier to remove in the future.

Hazel glanced over after forcing another drop his weapon and winced. Lily endured a third whack to her leg and let out another punch. This time, she clipped his jaw. He stumbled back a step.

Frank kicked one boy into another with a roar. Picking up the discarded baseball bat, he clocked out the guy next to him.

The one with yellow hair blindly grabbed for the guy next to him, pulling by the guy's gray sweatshirt when he got a hold.

"Dude, this is so not worth the pay."

His friend nodded. "Go, We're right behind you." He pulled up his unconscious friend and with the help of another, carried him out of the park. The remaining two saw their friends running and opted for the same out.

Hazel started to try and stop one, but Frank put a hand on her arm.

"Let them go. They're just humans."

"People are horrible," Hazel muttered. She turned back to the satyrs and saw Lily checking the smallest one's wounds. The other two looked relatively unhurt, but for a scrape or two, and waited patiently for Lily to finish.

Lily whispered in Greek something that seemed to reassure the satyr. She lifted a hand and pinched her fingers together. Out of thin air, Lily pulled a large white strip of cloth.

"How?" Hazel started to ask, but Lily shook her head. Lily wrapped a gash on the satyr's arm and stood up.

"Thank you, Demigods," One of the older satyrs said. Hazel didn't recognize him, but then she hadn't met many of them. "You have saved us."

Frank nodded. "No problem. But why were they chasing you in the first place?"

"We do not know," His fellow replied. "It has been like this in the past couple weeks. Many Satyrs report being attacked or harrassed, both by humans and monsters alike."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yes. Thank you again."

"Are you sure, because we could help," Frank said. Lily frowned in his direction.

"You help, you leave," she said, striding past.

The satyr worried, "Is it us?"

Hazel shook her head. "No. Lily just has somewhere she wants to be right now. Do you need an escort?"

They shook their heads. "No, that is no necessary. Good luck on your quest."

Frank tried to argue, "It's not a quest," but the satyrs weren't listening. The bowed their heads and trotted off in the other direction.

Hazel smiled up at Frank. "They're just satyrs. We should make sure Lily doesn't get lost."

He sighed. "Yeah. I just want this to be over with."

"Don't be like that, Frank, She's my sister."

"She's dangerous. You said so yourself."

"That was before I could talk to her," Hazel protested. "She's only as dangerous as Jason or Percy."

"She's mental."

Hazel folded his arms. "She's had a rough time. Lily's a person, just like you and me."

"Look, I'm not saying we don't help her. I'm just saying-"

"-saying you'd rather leave her on her own. Don't you dare."

He sighed. "Sorry. You know, she's probably going to ge hit by a car any second now."

"Then let's hurry before we get some very confused mortals."

 

 

Lily woke in a cold sweat in the hotel room Frank had rented for the night. Hazel turned over in her sleep, mumbling about mushrooms. Lily wriggled out from under the blankets and felt her way into the bathroom.

The cold tiles felt amazing on the soles of her feet. Lily lowered down onto the floor and breathed out slow.

"You okay?"

Lily started, falling sideways into the toilet. Hazel cringed.

"Sorry."

"You're fine." Lily folded her legs to the side. "Did I wake you?"

"Only as much as you normally do." Hazel smiled and sat down with her back to the bathtub. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not a good idea, Hazel."

"All demigods have nightmares. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed." Lily twiddled her thumbs. "I just can't talk about it. Not without something bad happening."

"What do you mean bad?"

"I mean not something I like." Lily reach across the bathroom and squeezed Hazel's leg affectionately. "Go back to bed, little one."

Hazel's smiled widened. "Were you a mother?"

"Nope. Now go get some sleep."

"You too."

"I am fine, Hazel. You are a grow girl. You need sleep."

Hazel giggled. "Definitely a mother once. Don't stay up too long, okay?"

"Be right behind you." Lily promised. Hazel got back to her feet and left the dark bathroom. Lily sat there on her own for a short hour. She waited until her heart no longer raced and the sweat was gone.

She could hear Frank snoring softly from the chair, sleeping in the form of a golden retriever. His snores sounded like a soft wheezing punctuated with a snort every few seconds. Hazel was curled up under the covers again, but still awake by the way she shifted the sheets.

A creak sounded in the hall. Lily could feel the belt buckle and zippers on the other side of the door. She also felt a steel blade.

About to turn and get Hazel up, Lily stopped when the doorknob rattled. She paused. The mechanism strained.

"Up and at 'em, Legionairre," Lily growled in Latin. She yanked the blanket off the bed. Hazel rolled to her feet, Spatha in her hand. Frank jerked awake with a snarl.

"What is it?"

"Trouble. Praetor, you ready for a fight?" Lily tore the blanket into a couple of strips, braiding it into a rope as the door strained again.

Frank barked once and growled at the door.

The lock cracked.

"Shouldn't we run?" Hazel hissed, darting a look to Lily. "What are you doing?"

"Making a weapon. Focus."

There was a grinding noise as the lock wrenched apart and the chain on the door snapped..

Rushing through the door was a burly man dressed in modern clothes and a fur wrap on his torso. Dark brown, curly hair topped his head, covering him with a decent beard. He ran into the room, swinging his blade at Lily's neck.

Hazel rushed in. Lily ducked down, wrapping a length of her two feet of braided blanket around her palm.

Hazel's blade passed right through the man's shoulder.

Lily punched hard into the man's groin.

Frank let out a sympathetic whimeper.

Limping a little with his thighs together, their assailant stabbed  down at Lily. She spun on the spot, hooking his sword hand and drawing it back and over her shoulder.

He wisely let go of his weapon and rolled further into the room rather than get stomped on.

The golden retriever lunged, sinking claws and teeth into flesh.

"Is he human?" Hazel asked.

"No," Lily answered. She ran her fingers over the length of steel he had wielded.

The man shook off Frank and pinned the dog down by the neck.

"Then why?"

Lily threw the sword at him as if it were a throwing knife. Despite the obvious flaw in balance and weight, it spun, slicing harmlessly through his middle.

"Lycanthrope," she hissed.

The dog transformed into a snake, though what kind, they could not tell in the dim lighting. Frank slithered up the werewolf's torso and wrapped tightly around his neck.

The werewolf pulled Frank's slithery form away from him.

Lily lunged in low. Frank slithered away as she wrestled the man over. He tried to peel her off, but she simply changed her hold. With part of the rope looped over his neck, she tied one end to his wrist, and pulled tight.

He growled, straining even as Lily continued to truss him up with his hands behind his back.

"Okay, now what?" Hazel peered over Lily. "Can we kill it?"

"No. You own no silver knife. The sheet please?" Lily held up her open hand. Hazel shot a confused look at Frank and then spotted the remainder of the blanket.

Hazel put the torn blanket in Lily's fingers. "Silver, got it, so then what?"

Frank turned back into a human. "Don't these guys run in packs."

Lily finished tying the guy up like a pretzel. "Which is why we leave. Now."

"What? Not even going to kill it?"

Lily ignored the question. Instead, she picked up her jacket and shoes off the floor.

"Lily?" Hazel scrambled to grab her things before Lily was too far out the door.

Frank scooped up his pack and chased Lily out of the motel.

They moved fast, only because Lily kept a fast pace. She fast walked ahead of them, nose up in the air, head on a swivel.

The lights of L. A. lit the sky line. A hazy white and red outlined the suburbia sprawl.

"Lily, would you slow down? There's no one out here." Hazel jogged to catch up to her sister. "Maybe the werewolf was on it's own."

"Do you want to sleep in the same room as him?" Lily stopped to look at her, feeling an anxious itch rise in her throat.

"No, but that's why we kill it. You tied it up. We get a silver knife and kill it."

"Have fun. I am going to the city."

Hazel stared. "You don't want to kill it?"

"Nope." Lily looked away.

"But it's a monster!"

"HE is a person," Lily snapped, then bit her lip. "Can we just keep going?"

"You think-" Hazel never finished her sentence, her mouth working itself silently.

Frank folded his arms. "Monsters are not people."

"Sure, except they have thoughts and feelings and lives if you just stop murdering them for two seconds," Lily let loose in Ancient Greek. When both kids kept staring at her, confused, she switched back to English. "You see them as horrible. It is what all you know. But they are just like us. Some are children of Gods also."

"They want us dead, Lily," Frank said. "That is all they do."

"And you never argue it."

"Excuse me for not wanting to die."

"That is not what I said."

"Well, it's what it sounds like."

Lily swore at him. "Excuse me, Praetor, for not viewing them as random monsters. Go home if you want. I never wanted the company. You insisted."

"Can you please stop?" Hazel asked.

Frank drew his sword. "I will make this simple. You either come back with me to New Rome willingly, or by force. I would leave you out here, but you are a danger to mortals."

"Frank!"

"I'm sorry, Hazel, but you heard her."

Lily stiffened, remembering the last time a quest member had turned on her. "Praetor."

"You have a choice, Lily. Make it."

Her lips formed a thin line as she relaxed. Every tense muscle loosened, ready for a fight.

"You cannot beat me, Praetor. This is not a duel."

"Lily, you just called a Lycanthrope a person, as if it were the same as us. As if it were not a bloodthirsty creature!"

"The only bloodthirsty creature here is you!" Lily yelled back. The air dropped in temperature around them. Out of the frosty air formed the vaguest shape of a woman made of mud. Frank went pale, his knuckles turning white.

"No," he stammered. "You- you're dead."

"Frank," The woman crooned, her voice a little unsteady and faint. "Come here, Frank."

He froze. Gaea reached out with one muddy hand towards him.

"Oh, for the love of," Lily muttered in Greek. She gestured, pulling the street sign from it's bolts. The sheet metal sliced through Gaea's torso, turning the woman to mist.

Frank blinked. "What was that?"

"Nightmare."

"Excuse me?"

"Get lost, Praetor, before this gets worse."

Frank asked, "Is that a threat?"

"Do you think I am weak? Do you think I have no power?" Lily dropped her carried shoes on the pavement.

Hazel stepped between them. "Would you two stop?"

Frank raised his sword. "I'm sorry, Hazel, she's too dangerous."

"No!" Hazel stomped her foot hard, making the ground shake. Frank hesitated.

She shot one golden glare at her sister and then fixed her eyes on Frank.

"Lily is only as dangerous as Jason. At least if Jason decided to not kill monsters, which is nuts. But that's no reason to start a fight. If you don't like this, that's fine. I'll stay with her, you can go tell Reyna where we're going."

"Hazel, I," Frank started.

"It's okay. I get it. She's an acquired taste." Hazel wrapped her hands around his, pushing his sword down. "I'm still getting used to her. But, I think we'll be fine. LA is close, we both know I can take care of myself and she's easily Percy's equal in fighting. You saw how she took down the werewolf."

"I'm not going to leave you, Hazel. If you stay, so do I."

"You don't have to."

"I want to." He sighed and sheathed his weapon. "I don't like it, but I'm not going to quit if you want to stay with her."

"It's just going to be a couple more days. Then we can all go back, okay?"

Lily stayed quiet, careful not to think about certain things the scene reminded her of. She wanted to do something, say something to get them to leave, but nothing good was coming to mind. If this was Ancient Greece; no, it was a thought that would get her nowhere. She would be lucky if they agreed to go home after finding out this was not as simple as going to see her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you feel you spine tingling? If not, I didn't make that chapter sensational enough. More intrigue and fighting. Follow me on twitter for updates @EmeryldL


End file.
